Life Changer
by kp83
Summary: Can you pick a moment in your life when everything changed? Brittany and Santana can, because as soon as they met, their lives were never the same. AU Brittana. This is a story of how they met, fell in love, and turned their two separate lives into one.
1. Chapter 1

**Life Changer**

**A/N**: Hi everyone! Just a few quick notes before we start, just in case some were wondering… As far as the feel of this story goes, I intend for this story to be mostly light with cute fluffy moments, some drama, maybe a teeny tiny bit of angst, but I don't think it will get too angsty. Also, concerning the pacing, things will move fast emotionally, but it will take a few chapters before things move forward physically.

Also, I would like to thank **Stalpankaka** for her wonderful and much appreciated help with this chapter. If you haven't read her stories, please take a look!

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.

This is rated M for language and adult situations.

-()-()-()-()-

**Chapter 1**

3:15 PM. _"Okay, almost time to board."_ Santana Lopez thought as she looked at her watch.

She had received a call this morning from her manager saying that she was needed the next day for a final audition for a new mini-series, and if it hadn't been for a show that she absolutely wanted to be in, she wouldn't have bothered with the last minute mad-dash to get to New York from Los Angeles.

She could _almost_ kill Kurt, her friend and business partner for her current predicament, but she swallowed those feelings because she knew her frustration was directed at the wrong person. Their conversation from a few hours ago was still replaying in her head as she rushed through LAX to make it to her plane in time…

- (Three hours ago)-

"You booked me in Coach?" Santana huffed into her Bluetooth as she rushed around her house packing her bags. "Why the hell would you put me back there? I mean seriously, did I do something to piss you off and you're punishing me, or is Blaine not putting out for you, so you've decided to take your frustration out on me?!"

Maybe she was being a little snobby about her seating arrangements, but in her mind, the airlines treated passengers in First and Business Class a whole lot better than Coach, where she felt like it was nothing more than a cattle call where they tried to fit as many people as they could into a metal tube. It wasn't like she couldn't afford a First Class seat, even with the last minute reservation, and at the very least, if she was going to endure a five and a half hour flight, she wanted to be comfortable and offered a decent meal.

"Okay, there are _several_ things wrong with what you just said." Kurt snapped back. "First, my relationship with Blaine is perfectly fine. We've only been together a few months and neither of us is in any rush to 'put out,' as you so crassly put it. I know this might be hard for you to understand, but there's something to be said about taking your time to really get to know a person before you get physically intimate. And secondly, I know this situation isn't ideal, but it's the best that I could do so you'd be in New York in time for your _8AM_ reading. The only seats available this last minute were in Coach, and I checked with at least eight different airlines going into all three New York area airports."

Kurt truly understood Santana's irritation with the situation, because if it was him, he would prefer to be in Business or First Class as well, but this was completely out if his hands, and he didn't feel as if he deserved to be snapped at.

Santana sighed; she knew Kurt was right. She figured that she should do something that she didn't do very often, and reserved for only a select few…apologize.

"Look Kurt, I'm sorry. I know this isn't your fault, and thank you for taking care of this for me. I really didn't have time to check out the flight options this morning. I'm just frustrated that they didn't give me more time to get there. Hell, they didn't even give me a reason as to why they needed me there so quickly. I mean, what were they thinking calling me at eleven o'clock in the morning and expecting me to be in New York tonight?"

"I know, it sucks, but you're just going to have to deal at the moment if you want to get on that show." Kurt responded. He knew Santana Lopez didn't jump through hoops for anyone, well if she could help it anyways, but Kurt also knew how much she wanted to land the lead in this show, so he just gave her the best advice he had.

"Damn it! This is going to be the flight from hell." Santana spat. She would deal later, but while she was still in her own home, she was going to grouch about it.

"Hey, you don't know that." Kurt offered. He always tried to find the positive in any situation.

"That remains to be seen. God help me if someone realizes that I'm in Coach. I won't get a moments peace back there. I mean don't get me wrong, I love my fans, but I'm really not in the mood to potentially entertain a plane full of people for five and a half hours."

There was a time, when Santana was first starting out, that her publicist told her that publicly reveling that she was a lesbian could be bad for her career, but she never found that to be the case. She had fans from all walks of life that absolutely freaked out when they met her so she had no doubt if they knew she was on the plane, she was going to spend a lot of time entertaining them.

"If it helps, I paid, well technically you paid for it, but you have priority boarding, so you'll be one of the first people to board after Business and First Class, and I booked you a window seat, so it won't be as easy for people to approach you, if they even recognize you at all." Kurt offered.

Santana sighed again in resignation, "Okay. Thanks again."

"Hey, before you go," Kurt started, "I want to run a few things past you. I booked you an Executive Suite at the Marriott in Times Square and I made your return ticket for next Friday, because I was thinking I would fly out there on Monday, once you're done with your audition and meetings, and we could schedule a few meetings of our own to discuss opening a store in New York. We might as well get the ball rolling on this, especially since you're already going to be out there."

Santana thought about it for a few seconds, and she thought he had a valid point. "Okay, that sounds good. I'm bringing my laptop anyways, so if you have any new paperwork or files that I don't already have, just email them to me so I can go over them."

"You should have everything that I have concerning the line, but I was thinking about doing some real estate shopping online over the next few days, so I'll email you possible locations to go over, and then when I get there, we can go check them out together. Blaine said he might like to tag along, so he might join us as well."

"Sounds like a plan." She responded and then looked at the clock. "Shit! Listen Kurt, I have to run. I have to finish packing and then I have to run Max over to Quinn's. Sometimes I think I have to pack more stuff for him when I leave, than I do for myself."

Kurt just chuckled, "If you didn't spoil that dog rotten, he wouldn't have so much stuff to pack."

Santana bristled at that comment. "Okay, let's get this straight, Max is my baby, so yes, he is spoiled, but I spent a lot of time training him to be well-behaved, and he's such a sweet boy that he's nowhere near rotten."

Kurt just let out a stifled laugh. When it came to her dog, Santana was not only a big softy; she was also defensive and hated it when people called him 'spoiled rotten.'

"Okay, okay, chill Santana. You know I love your sweet little guy."

"You better!" She teased. "Well, I need run. I'll call you sometime tomorrow or the next day, okay?"

"Sure. Have a safe flight, and I'll talk to you soon."

- (Present time)-

"_Ladies and Gentleman, at this time, Delta Airlines Flight 2362 with service from Los Angeles to New York's JFK Airport would like to announce boarding for those passengers with priority boarding and families with small children that require extra time to board to approach the boarding area at this time."_

Santana, who had just arrived at the gate, was happy that she didn't have to sit in the waiting area at all, and got into the short line to board the aircraft. She had her sunglasses on top of her head, and she decided to leave them there so she wouldn't draw any attention to herself by having them on indoors. She figured she could get away with putting them on when she sat down and then just rest her head against the side of the plane, that way everyone would think that she was just resting instead of trying to hide who she was. She thought if she could just get through the boarding process without being recognized, everything would be okay. At the very least, the flight attendants might know who she was, but they were supposed to be professional enough to keep her identity quiet.

Boarding was quick and surprisingly painless, as she was the second passenger in Coach to enter the plane and she had decided to pack everything in her checked bag, so the only carry-on bags she had to worry about was her purse and laptop case. After arriving at her seat in the back row, she pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes, and then to kill time, she put her ear buds in and plugged them into her phone so she could listen to some music as the rest of the passengers boarded the plane.

As the boarding process continued, Santana started to think that the two seats next to her and the row across the aisle from her would be left open, because she had been on enough planes to know that they boarded Coach from the back, and moved forward, and they were nearly done boarding and no one was sitting in them. The prospect of having the whole row to herself appealed to her because it meant that she would be able to stretch out and not worry about the other person in the seat next to her invading her personal space.

When one of the flight attendants started to make an announcement saying that the cabin door had been closed, and that all portable electronics had to be turned off, she thought her wish for a row to herself was going to be granted, until she felt someone sit down right next to her in the middle seat.

Santana sat up from where she was returning her phone and sunglasses to her purse that was under the seat in front of her, and looked over to see a beautiful, blue-eyed, blonde-haired woman, with sun-kissed fair skin sitting next to her, fussing with something that was in her purse. Santana took a few seconds to take in her beauty, because she was sure that even though she socialized with many A-list celebrities, she had never seen anyone so beautiful. She could easily tell the girl was a natural beauty. She was just in casual clothing and she had some make-up on, but it was very light, and Santana still thought she was more beautiful than any woman she had ever seen walk the red carpet.

Santana lost herself in her thoughts about the attractive woman, and she probably would have been caught staring if one of the flight attendants had not approached their row and interrupted her train of thought.

"Miss?" The middle-aged flight attendant said to the other woman to get her attention. When she stopped rummaging through her bag and gave the attendant her attention, she continued. "I'm going to need you to put your bag under the seat, we're about to push back."

"Oh, okay." She said with a smile.

With that, the flight attendant left to do her other duties that needed to be accomplished prior to departure.

The woman took another few seconds to route through her bag, and then she sighed, "Shoot! I must've forgotten them."

"What?" Santana asked with an amused smile. She hadn't meant to say anything, but considering the amount of time the woman had spent searching her bag, Santana just put it down to her curiosity getting the better of her.

"My ear buds. I was going to listen to some music on my phone with them." The blue-eyed beauty pouted as she answered. "Looks like it is going to be a long flight without them."

Santana thought that the other woman looked absolutely adorable with the slight pout on her face. "Sorry, that sucks."

Santana felt for the woman, because she knew that feeling. It sucked not having the freedom of having your own ear buds, because the ones that you buy on the plane aren't compatible with any other equipment so you're forced to watch the inflight entertainment if you want something to do for the duration of your flight. For some crazy reason, Santana felt the need to help this woman, and the next thing she knew, she was speaking again without thinking.

"I have another pair with me; you can have them if you want." Santana said, and she surprised herself. She had never done that before, just offer to give something to some random person that she had known for less than five minutes. Sure, she donated to several charities and causes, but this offer just seemed out of nowhere to her.

Santana wasn't the only one that was surprised by the offer. "Oh!" The woman chirped with her eyebrows raised. "That's nice of you, but I can't let you do that."

"No, it's no problem, I have two pair with me," Santana stated, and then with a smile, she added in a jovial tone, "but you don't have to use them if you don't want to. I'm not going to force you to take them."

Her new companion just chuckled and then returned the smile that Santana was giving her. "As long as you don't mind; I don't want to be a bother."

"No, you're totally fine." Santana said and then bent over to get her new ear buds out of her bag. "Here you go." She said handing them over after she wiped them off with a tissue. "I've only worn them a couple of times, so they're practically brand new, and I promise I don't have ear cooties." She joked, and internally berated herself for her choice of words

"_Ear cooties? What the hell Santana, this girl is going think you're insane!"_

But, to add to her growing list of things that had surprised Santana today, the girl just giggled and responded with a comment that was as equally adorable to her pout from earlier. "That's good, but even if you did, I got my cootie shot in kindergarten, so I think I'm safe."

Santana just retuned the giggle. _"My god this woman is adorable!"_ She thought.

By now, if she was anybody else, Santana would have introduced herself, and tried to get the woman's name, but fame had made her cautious. She was actually surprised that she hadn't been recognized by now, and for that, she was thankful.

It was Santana's experience that once a woman knew who she was, all they saw was the celebrity and not the person behind the social status. During her 'player' days, this was not a problem, because she was more than likely using the other person as well; but now that she was actually looking to put all that behind her and find someone to have a meaningful long-lasting relationship with, her celebrity status made it hard to get close to people, except other celebrities, and even that could be a pain, because most of them were WAY too self-absorbed. That's not to say that Santana didn't have her fair share of self-absorption, but when she was in a real relationship with someone she cared for, she liked to do special things for them and give them everything they could ever ask for to make them happy. She was a closet romantic to say the least, but lately, every woman she had tried to have a legitimate relationship with wasn't interested in returning the romance. They were more than happy to receive it, but not return it. It was a little disheartening, but Santana was a big girl, so she didn't dwell on it.

A comfortable silence settled between the two women as the plane taxied and they listened to the flight attendants go through their safety demonstration. It didn't take too long for Santana to decide that she wanted to keep talking to the pretty woman next to her, but for some reason, she was finding it hard to come up with a conversation starter without feeling ridiculous. Thankfully, a few minutes later it was taken care of for her. When they stated to roll down the runway for takeoff, the woman unexpectedly grabbed Santana's arm that was on the armrest.

Santana looked down at her arm, and then over at her new companion, noticing that she was gripping the other armrest as well, and she looked nervous.

"Nervous flyer?" Santana asked with a sweet smile.

The woman turned to look at her. "No, I don't mind flying, but takeoffs and landings make me nervous." She answered and then she noticed that she had grabbed Santana's arm. "I'm sorry!" She apologized and tried to remove her hand, but Santana was too fast for her, and grabbed her hand, linking their fingers together.

"No it's okay. I used to be the same way the first couple of times I flew. Thankfully, I had someone to hold my hand to make it better. Just let me know when you're feeling better." She smiled as well to let the nervous woman know she was being sincere.

The woman gave her a weak smile and thanked her. She was grateful that she had found someone nice to sit next to.

"You know, it gets a lot better the more you fly." Santana said quietly as she leaned into her companion and rubbed her thumb over her hand to help calm her.

"Yeah?"

"Yep. After about my third or fourth time on a plane, I realized that it wasn't so bad."

"Okay. We'll let's hope you're right."

"Trust me, it will be." Santana said and leaned back into her own seat.

After a few more minutes, the grip on Santana's hand loosened, and then after a couple of more minutes and the announcement that told them that they could use their approved electronics, the other woman spoke.

"I think I'm okay now." She said as she let go of Santana's hand.

Already missing the contact, Santana decided to at least keep the conversation going.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm usually good after a few minutes. Thanks for your help. That was really nice of you."

Santana smiled, "You're welcome."

The other woman just retuned a shy smile and blushed, which Santana found cute. "So what has you going to New York?" She asked once her blush died down.

"Work, I have a bunch of business meetings to go to." Santana answered vaguely. She wasn't about to reveal herself quite yet. "What about you?" She asked to take this part of the conversation away from herself.

"Work as well. Actually it might not be work. I have an audition, so we'll see if I get a part before I'll actually call it work. It might just turn out to be a three day trip to New York."

That answer really piqued Santana's curiosity. She wondered what type of audition. "What are you auditioning for?"

"For a new show on Broadway called _'_Dance True.' I'm a dancer and my friend heard about it and told me it would be a really good idea to audition, so I sent in a video of me dancing, and they asked me to audition in person."

"Really? What's the part?"

"I don't really know what I'll be auditioning for. I guess since it's a show about dancing, it could be for any female part."

"What's the storyline?"

"It's about a girl named Leigh, who loves to dance, and her parents think it's a waste of time and want her to quit, but her best friend Sara knows how much she loves to dance, so she convinces her to join a dance club with her and now Leigh has to balance keeping her parents happy and making sure that she's being true to herself."

"Huh, sounds a little like the movie 'Whip It,' only with dancing instead of roller derby."

"Maybe, I didn't see that one. Was it good?"

"I don't know, I didn't see the movie either, but I heard about it."

"Oh." The blue-eyed beauty said with a small smile. "Anyways, I'm kinda hoping that I do well enough to get a part in this show. Anything will do."

"So even if you get a small background part, you're going to move to New York?"

"Yeah. I moved to L.A. for a small part about a year ago and ever since then I've only had a few other dancing jobs, so to help make ends meet I work part time in a children's dance school and full time in a pet store called Furry Tails. I love working with animals and children, but dancing is my passion, so I'm hoping that if I get a part, this will be the beginning of something new and it will open a lot of doors for me."

"That's very optimistic."

"I try to be. There's no sense in being negative all the time."

Santana really liked her attitude, even if it wasn't one that she herself followed. "So you said that you had a few jobs in L.A., would it be for anything that I would know?"

"Probably not, but when Madonna did a concert in LA a few months ago, I was asked to fill in for one of her background dancers because the regular person got food poisoning."

"Really? That's cool. I was supposed to go to that show, but the day of the concert my friend found out that her asshole boyfriend was cheating on her, so I decided to skip it and spend some time with her."

"Aww, that's really sweet of you! I bet she appreciated that, and I hope she knows how lucky she is to have a friend like you."

This comment completely caught Santana of guard. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you missed a Madonna concert for her, Silly! I'm pretty sure that's against the rules." The woman said with a serious look on her face.

Santana was not expecting that answer. She just stared at her at a loss for words, until her serious look faded and she started laughing. "I'm just kidding."

Santana let out a breath and started laughing as well.

"No, I'm just kidding. Madonna is awesome, but you did what a good friend should do, and drop everything when your friend needs you most. That makes a true friend, and nowadays those are hard to find. I mean, you just seem so nice, and if I were her, I would be happy to have a friend like you."

"I'm really not that nice." Santana said a little embarrassed by the other woman's admission.

"I've known you for less than an hour, and within that time you've offered to let me use your ear buds, and you tried to calm me by holding my hand when I was nervous. You didn't have to do any of that, but you did, so I think that makes you pretty nice, if not one of the nicest people I've ever met."

Santana couldn't argue with that assessment, those were nice things to do, but it wasn't like she did stuff like that very often, or like ever. "But, I-" She started to say, but she was cut off.

"No! No, 'buts!' I may not be right about a lot of things, but I know I'm right about this one."

Santana just looked at the woman beside her, and the look on her face told her that she firmly believed what she was saying, so who was she to make her think otherwise. Also, Santana liked the fact that someone she just met liked her for something other than being an A-list celebrity.

"Okay, Blondie, you win this one." Santana said with an amused smile. "But don't think you're going to win them all. I'm pretty competitive."

"Well, so am I and I will win this competition every time."

The two women just laughed. Santana couldn't believe how much she was enjoying this woman's company, and she silently thanked the producers in New York and Kurt for doing what they did, because she would not have met this beautiful and intriguing woman had it not been for them. The irony of the situation was palpable and it didn't escape her.

"Oh and my name isn't Blondie, its Brittany." She said with a sweet smile when she calmed down from her giggle fit.

"_Crap! Just when things were going well."_ Santana thought. Of course, they were going to come to the introduction phase at some point, but she was hoping to enjoy herself a little longer.

Then, just as Santana was going to introduce herself, she was prevented from doing so because one of the flight attendants announced that they were going to begin their beverage and meal service where Coach Passengers would be offered, _"complimentary refreshments, and premium snacks for purchase."_

Santana quickly previewed the menu that was in the pocket in the seatback in front of her and then the grumbling started. "How can they call this a meal service? Look at this," she leaned over to show Brittany what the options were. "A pack with assorted cheeses and crackers, or an assortment of mixed nuts with pita chips and hummus. This isn't dinner, it's a snack!"

"What do expect, we're in the cheap seats." Brittany said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Santana said with a slight huff. On the one hand, she wished she were in First Class, because she knew for a fact that they were getting a decent three course meal, but on the other hand, if she was up there, she wouldn't be here with Brittany, so she guessed it was a small price to pay to meet her.

"If I had had more time in the airport than I did, I would've bought something better." Santana complained.

"Hey, I tell you what," Brittany said sweetly, "how about we go halfsies on one of those snack packs, and then we share my sandwich and candy bar."

"What?" Santana said with her eyebrows raised. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I bought a Turkey sandwich before we boarded and it's pretty big, definitely enough for both of us. We could make our own three-course meal and pretend that we're rich and in First Class if we get one of those snack packs, maybe the cheese and cracker one, and use it as an appetizer, and then we can have my candy bar for desert."

Santana stared at Brittany for a few seconds and wondered where this adorable and generous creature came from, and what she was doing hanging out with her. Also, the smile that Brittany was giving her must have been infectious, because it was causing her to return it and she was sure she looked ridiculous.

"Are you sure? I don't want to take your food from you?" Santana offered, giving Brittany a chance to back out.

"Yes, Silly! Come on, it's the least I can do for you, considering how nice you've been to me."

"Okay, if you're sure. Thanks. That's very _nice_ of you as well." Santana said with a wink.

Brittany blushed slightly from the wink. "I guess we're just a couple of nice girls then. Lucky us, we found each other."

Now it was Santana's turn to blush. Okay, maybe she didn't blush, since her skin tone usually hid it, but she definitely felt the heat rush to her face.

The two women fell into another comfortable silence waiting for the flight attendants to come by, and then when it was their turn, they ordered their drinks and Santana ordered a cheese snack pack, giving the flight attendant her credit card to pay for it.

Brittany placed her drink on Santana's tray table so she could bend over and get their sandwich out of her purse, as well as money for the snack pack.

"Here you go." Brittany said as she tried to hand Santana the money.

Santana just looked at the money as if it would burn her to touch it. "What's that for?"

"I thought we were going halfsies on the snack pack?" Brittany said with a confused look on her face. "Did the plan change and I missed it?"

"No!" Santana said a little quicker than needed. She was sure that this was one meal that she would always remember, and definitely one she wanted to share with Brittany. After she took a moment to compose herself, she explained.

"I mean, yes we're still sharing, but there is no need for you to pay for this. You bought the sandwich and candy bar, remember?"

"Oh!" Brittany said with a chuckle. "I forgot."

Santana just chuckled back. She could see that there was something different with the way Brittany operated, but it was a good kind of different. She was sure she had not laughed or smiled this much in a long time, and she liked it. Usually she was easily irked, but somehow Brittany didn't annoy her, she just made her smile.

The pair divided their food, and ate. By the time they got to the "third course," both girls were satisfied.

"You want desert now or later?" Brittany asked.

Santana stayed silent for a couple of seconds trying to figure out what Brittany's thoughts on the matter were. "Umm…" She stalled. "Can we wait? I'm kinda full." She answered honestly.

"Sure. Actually, I'm glad you wanted to wait, I'm full too."

"Cool." Santana said with a little nod. "Oh and by the way, that was the most unique and fun 'three-course meal' I've ever had. Thanks for that."

"Technically, until we eat desert, it was only a two course meal, but yeah it was a lot of fun."

Santana smiled again, for what felt like the millionth time, and when Brittany returned the smile, she felt an invisible blush heat up her face again. She broke eye content and ran her fingers through her hair, nervously. She was starting to feel smitten over Brittany, which was a little scary for her, because she wasn't sure if Brittany was single or if she would even be receptive to a same sex relationship.

So far, other than the incessant smiling that was going on between them, which didn't really prove anything, Santana had no idea what Brittany's personal preferences were when it came to a partner. She knew better than to make a snap judgment and label her before she knew for sure, but regardless of the answer, she still wanted to get to know Brittany, even if it was only on a friendly, platonic level.

While she mulled these thoughts over in her head, Santana could feel Brittany's eyes watching her as she played with her hair.

"Hey, you know what?" Brittany said suddenly, and it made Santana jump slightly and pull her hand out of her hair, placing it back by her side.

"What?" Santana asked with a curious chuckle.

"I just realized you look a little like Santana Lopez, the actress."

"_FUCK!" _Santana screamed in her head. She was not expecting that, but then again, she was surprised it took this long to get to this point.

"Has anyone ever told you that?" Brittany asked.

"Umm…no." Santana answered honestly. No one had ever told her that she 'looked' like herself. They just assumed it was her, and usually when people recognized her, the conversation went like, _"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE SANTANA LOPEZ! CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRRAPH?!"_

For the most part, Santana smiled and fulfilled the request. It was part of the job, and she did love her fans, because without them, she wouldn't be where she was today, but there were times when she wanted a little privacy and time to herself, without an interruption from a very loud and excited fan. Plus, this time around, she was afraid that once Brittany found out who she was, she would react the same way, and she was just not prepared for that right now.

"Really? No one's ever told you that?"

"No."

"Huh? Well you do, but between you and me, I think you're prettier." Brittany said as she playfully bumped her shoulder into Santana's.

Again, another response from Brittany that Santana was not expecting and it threw her for a few seconds. "Really?"

"Yeah, now don't get me wrong, Santana is all kinds of pretty, beautiful even, and that dress that she wore to the Grammy's this year was incredible, but seeing you here right now, I think you're prettier."

Santana thought about that. She had never been called 'prettier' than herself before either, so she was more than curious as to what gave Brittany that opinion.

"What makes you think that?"

"Okay, look at yourself right now. What are you wearing?"

Santana looked down at herself, "Um, jeans and a t-shirt." She specifically chose a casual outfit for this flight so she would blend in better. Usually when she flew in First Class, she dressed a lot nicer, but she figured that if she wore a pencil skirt and blouse in Coach she would stand out.

"Exactly! You are wearing just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. You don't need a ton of make-up and a fancy dress to look beautiful, you just are, which in my book puts you miles ahead of Santana Lopez."

Santana opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Not only was that the exact same thought that she had about Brittany when she first saw her, it literally was the most sincere, and flattering thing anyone had ever said to her. She was pretty sure that she had just surpassed smitten and jumped head first into full on 'I really, _REALLY_, like this girl' stage. Also, another thing that Santana was certain of was that her blush this time was not invisible, it was too intense.

"T-That's really sweet." Santana said with slight stutter. She was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check.

"Well, it's true." Brittany tried to assure her.

"Stop it!" Santana said with a playful tone and then turned her head a little so Brittany couldn't see her face.

"I mean it. One day, Santana Lopez is going to pass you on the street and say, _'Damn, that girl is beautiful!'_ And then, if she has a girlfriend, she's going breakup with her on the spot, just so she could ask you out on a date."

"Oh my god!" Santana said with a laugh. "I highly doubt that is going to happen."

"Anything's possible." Brittany said with an amused smile.

"I guess so." Santana chuckled. "So what about you? And I'm not just saying this to be nice and compliment you because you complimented me, but maybe one day she'll see you and ask you out on a date, because you're beautiful as well."

Brittany laughed. "I did say anything is possible, but I don't think that's going to happen."

"Now why would you say that?" Santana asked, confused. She knew for a fact that 'Santana Lopez' found this woman attractive and she had already acknowledged that she thought she was more beautiful than any woman she had ever seen.

Referring to herself in the third person in her thoughts was new for Santana, and while she thought it was a little weird, she figured she had just taken flirting to a completely new level.

"I've never met her, but we've been in Starbucks at the same time before, and I don't know if she noticed me, but if she did, she didn't come up to me and ask me out, so that theory is shot for me."

Santana blinked a few times. This new piece of information was a shock to her system. She must not have noticed Brittany at all that day, because she most definitely would have remembered seeing her.

"When was that?" She asked Brittany.

"Umm, probably a few months ago. My friend and I were in there having an afternoon snack, and I saw her across the room. She had a bunch of paperwork in front of her. I think she was about to go into a meeting."

Santana remembered that day, she was swamped with proposals for her and Kurt's fashion line, and Brittany was right, she was getting ready for a meeting, because she and Kurt had an investors meeting not too long after that. She had just stopped by the Starbucks to go over some last minute things while she waited for Kurt to join her. She would not have noticed anyone that day because she literally was too involved with her work.

"Oh, don't put yourself down." Santana attempted to reassure her. "It sounds to me like she was just busy, and she wouldn't have noticed anything that wasn't on the paperwork in front of her."

"Maybe." Brittany said with a shrug.

"So are you a fan of Santana?" Santana asked. Again, there was that weirdness about referring to herself in the third person, but this was something that she really wanted to know. She wanted to see what kind of fan Brittany was, and she really hoped that she wasn't a crazy one.

"Yeah. I mean, who isn't? Everything she does is a hit, but what I really love is her music. She has such a beautiful voice that I could just listen to her sing for hours."

Santana felt a pull at one of her heartstrings with that comment.

"So if you're a fan, why didn't you ask for her autograph when you saw her?"

"I didn't want to bother her, she looked like she had a ton of stuff going on, but even if she wasn't busy with paperwork, I probably wouldn't have approached her." Brittany answered.

"Why?"

"Just because she's a celebrity and she's probably used to people approaching her, it doesn't mean that she wants people coming up to her allthe time, so I would have just passed up the opportunity to meet her so she could enjoy her coffee in peace."

"_Perfect. Seriously, she's perfect!" _Santana thought. Now she just hoped that Brittany was single and gay or bi, because she was unlike anyone she had ever met, and she really wanted to pursue the possibility of having a romantic relationship with her.

"I'm sure she appreciated you giving her a chance to get her work done without bombarding her personal time."

"I guess. So what about you? Are you a fan of hers?" Brittany asked and Santana didn't know how to answer, because, yeah, she liked the stuff that she did, but it felt like she was just 'tooting her own horn' to call herself a 'fan' of herself, so she decided to go with something that didn't give too much information, and somehow take the conversation away from 'Santana Lopez.'

"Sure."

"Cool."

"Soooo…" Santana drew out trying to think of something to change the subject. "I have an idea."

"And what might that be?" Brittany said in a playful tone and raised her eyebrows in interest.

"I think it's time that we break open that candy bar and then watch a movie together."

"Ooo, I like that idea. But the inflight movie is almost over, do you think they're going play another one?"

"I don't know, but I have my iPad with me and I have a few movies to choose from."

"Sounds good. How do you wanna do this?"

"We could share a set of ear buds. I mean, I could turn it up so we can both hear it, but we might disturb the other passengers. I think some of them are trying to sleep" Santana answered with a white lie.

She really didn't care what the other passengers around her were doing; she just didn't want to draw any attention to their row. She was enjoying having only Brittany's attention, and the fact that if they shared they would have to sit a little closer to each other, was not lost on her either.

"Okay." Brittany agreed with a smile.

Santana bent down to get her iPad out of her bag, but she remembered that she had already given Brittany her good pair of ear buds.

"Hey, do you mind getting the ear buds I gave you earlier. I work out with my other pair and I really don't think you want to use those ones."

"Sure." Brittany reached into her pocket to retrieve them.

After Santana set up her tablet so they could both watch the movie, she went to her video app and let Brittany scroll through and pick what they watched.

"Damn, no Santana Lopez movies!" Brittany laughed. "We talked about her so much tonight that it almost feels wrong not to watch one of her movies."

Santana just returned a nervous chuckle. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine, I was just kidding anyways. How about this one?"

"The 'Notebook'?" Santana raised her eyebrows in surprise. Not only did Brittany pick one of her favorite movies, not that she would admit that to anyone, but a love story on top of that. It was almost too much for her to handle.

"Yeah, I love this movie. I know you might think this is silly, but it's one of my favorites, and the first time I watched it, I cried my eyes out and I wished to someday have a love like Ally and Noah's." Brittany explained.

Santana felt her heart drop into her stomach, because she had felt the same way when she first watched the movie, but Brittany's answer made her nervous because her statement could be taken one of two ways. The first one, which was the most appealing to her, was where Brittany just wanted to meet someone, it didn't matter if it was a male or female, and have an epic love affair, or the second, scarier option, was that she wanted it to be with a man.

"O-Oh" Santana said nervously. "Have you found it yet?"

Brittany blushed. "No, not yet. I hope I do some day. I just want to meet someone who I don't have to explain things to, they just get me, and whether it's ten years down the road or thirty, we still have that same spark that we had for each other when we first got together."

Santana wanted to say that she wanted that too, and that maybe that someone could be her, but she couldn't find the words. She was sure that even if she did find the right words, her voice would have so much nervousness to it that it wouldn't allow her to get through it without looking like a crazy person.

When Santana didn't say anything in response, Brittany apologized. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to go off like that. I mean, I barely know you, and here I am pouring my heart out to you. Sometimes, I have the bad habit of over sharing. I hope you're not uncomfortable or freaked out by me now."

"_What? Freaked out? Is she serious right now?"_ Santana thought. "No, I'm not freaked out." She found her voice. "And don't be sorry, I liked your honesty, and what you said. I think everyone is looking for that too. I know I am."

Brittany gave a shy smile. "You mean to tell me that someone as nice and as beautiful as you hasn't found someone to be the love of your life?"

"_Maybe."_ Santana thought in reference to Brittany. Had she had any indication that Brittany was into women, she would have found the nerve to actually say that out loud, but the possible rejection was just too much, and then to have to sit next to Brittany for a few more hours after that rejection was unbearable, so she kept that little bit of information to herself.

"I've dated a lot the past few years, but it just seems that they were either out to get something from me, or they just took me for granted, so I think I've given up hope." Santana confessed.

"That's awful!" Brittany said with a frown. "How could anyone be so mean to someone so nice?"

"Maybe they didn't find me as nice as you do." Santana said with a chuckle to lighten the mood. She wasn't even sure how the conversation turned so serious, and what's more, why she was even talking about it with someone that she had only known for a couple of hours.

Brittany giggled lightly. "Maybe we should date. We might have better luck."

Santana was sure that her eyes bugged out a little with that comment. _"Did I just hear her right? Please tell me I heard her right!"_

When Santana registered the look on the Brittany's face, she too looked shocked, like she didn't mean to say that, and before she could say anything, Brittany was speaking.

"I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized and then buried her head in her hands. "God, I'm so stupid!" She mumbled into her hands, shaking her head, before she looked at Santana with a face as red as a tomato. "I'm so sorry; I need to learn to think before I blurt out stuff to complete strangers."

Santana could see that Brittany was completely embarrassed by her comment and she looked like she wanted the plane to open up underneath her and suck her away. Santana thought she looked utterly adorable, which seemed to the be word of the day to describe Brittany, so she decided to spare her any more embarrassment and change the subject, even if the subject of them dating would have been one conversation that she would have liked to have had.

"Hey! Don't call yourself that, you're not stupid, and it was an innocent comment, but I think if we don't start the movie soon, we won't get through it before we get to New York." Santana said with a reassuring smile.

"Okay." Brittany said with a small smile. She noticed the obvious change in conversation, and she was thankful, because she thought that while they were watching the movie, she had less of a chance of saying something embarrassing.

Santana plugged the ear buds into her iPad, gave the left side to Brittany, and put the right one in her own ear before she started the movie.

The next two hours flew by for the two women as they watched the movie, making passing comments about what was happening, and they found that they had similar opinions about the characters and the storyline.

When the movie ended, it wasn't surprising to the two women that they were both tearing up.

"Damn tearjerkers." Santana joked as she wiped a lone tear away from her eye.

Brittany let out a quiet chuckle and wiped her own tears away. "I know, I cry every time, even though I know how it's going to end."

"Yeah, me too."

"You know what other movies do that to me?" Brittany asked.

"What?"

"'Dumbo'. That scene where he goes to visit his mother in jail, and she sings 'Baby Mine' while rocking him in her trunk, and the pound scene in 'Lady and the Tramp' where they show all the sad dogs without homes…yeah I'm a mess for a few minutes after both of those scenes."

Santana chuckled. "Really? Huh, I haven't seen them, so I can't say one way or the other about those scenes."

Brittany just looked at Santana as if she had two heads. "Wait a minute, are you telling me that you've never seen 'Dumbo' _and_ 'Lady and the Tramp?' Seriously, you're not kidding with me?"

Santana shook her head. "No, I guess my parents never got around to buying me those ones when I was a kid."

"Oh my god, what a deprived life you've led."

Santana let out an amused laugh at the seriousness of Brittany's comment. "What?"

"I can't believe you haven't seen those movies. It's almost like a childhood requirement to see them. You have to make me a promise. Sometime in the near future, you have to go rent or buy those movies and watch them."

Brittany's passion for these two movies was not only amusing to Santana, but completely endearing, and she found that there was no way that she could deny the request, so she gave in with a wide smile on her face. "Okay, I promise."

"Good!" Brittany cheered. "Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

"I'm sure." Santana responded with a chuckle, before an audible chime was heard throughout the cabin and interrupted their conversation.

"_Ladies and Gentleman, this is the Captain, currently we are about forty-five miles out from our destination, where the local time in New York City is 12:15am, and a current temperature of sixty degrees. We should be landing in about fifteen minutes."_

Then the flight attendant gave her announcement, _"Ladies and Gentlemen, in preparation for landing, and as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full and upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins, and please turn off all electronic devices. Thank you."_

With this, Brittany and Santana did as they were instructed and started to put their things away. Santana stopped when she pulled the ear buds out of her iPad.

"Do you want to keep these?" She asked, offering them to Brittany, knowing that she didn't have a set of her own.

"Oh no!" Brittany said quickly. "That's sweet of you, but I'll just buy a pair in the store tomorrow. Thanks though."

"Okay." Santana said before she bent over to put her things away.

When she leaned up, she noticed that Brittany had a nervous look her face, and she guessed that their impending landing was what had her so flustered. She looked down at Brittany's hands and saw that they were griping the armrests again, so Santana decided to help calm her by lifting Brittany's hand by her wrist from the armrest that was between them and then she moved it up so there was nothing between them. She then linked her fingers with Brittany's and placed both of their hands on the seat between them.

Brittany just turned her head and gave a smile that said a wordless, _"Thank you!"_ With that, Santana could tell that she had done her job right, because Brittany was visibly calmer. They were silent for the remainder of the flight.

After they disembarked the plane, they made their way to Baggage Claim together, and the whole way there, Santana was trying to come up with a way to spend more time with Brittany without coming off as a woman with a crush. She was coming up with a blank until she had a stroke of genius after they collected their bags from the carousel.

"Hey, Brittany," Santana started, and she realized that this was the first time that she had addressed her by her name. "I was wondering; where are you staying while you're here?"

"The Marriott in Times Square."

Santana's heart nearly jumped in her chest with that answer.

"My friend that I told you about earlier offered to let me stay with her," Brittany continued, "actually, she's more like my sister, but I knew it would've been crowded with her, me, and her roommate, so I just said that I would stay at a hotel, and she suggested the Marriot. She's part of the 'Evita' cast, and she said that that hotel is next to her theater and it would be the perfect place to stay since it would only be a few blocks up from where my audition is."

"Oh, that's good. Actually, as coincidence would have it, I'm staying at that hotel too."

"Really?!" Brittany asked happily. She too was pleased with the coincidence.

"Yeah, so I was thinking, since we're staying at the same hotel, would you like to ride with me there?" Santana offered, silently hoping that Brittany would accept.

"Sure! I'd like to share a cab with you." Brittany answered cheerfully.

Truthfully, money was a little tight for Brittany, since her job at the pet store didn't pay a lot and she only worked at the dance school when one of the regular teachers was out. She made enough to pay her bills and put some into savings, but after that, she didn't have a lot of extra money to play with. She was using some of her savings to pay for this trip, so having someone to share a cab with would be very helpful. Moreover, she also enjoyed her time with her new friend so she wouldn't mind spending more time with her.

"Actually, I have a car reserved, so no cab, we're riding in style." Santana said with a smile as she led Brittany towards ground transportation.

Brittany just followed and then it dawned on her. She didn't know the other woman's name. She remembered introducing herself on the plane, but when it was the other woman's turn, they were interrupted by an announcement, and then they got so distracted by other things that the topic never came up again. She was almost embarrassed to ask, but she figured that she had better do it before she got in the car with her.

"Umm, I'm a little embarrassed to ask, since we pretty much talked the whole way here, but I never did catch your name." Brittany asked sheepishly.

Santana knew this was coming, because if Brittany didn't ask, she was sure that the sign that she could see the car driver holding in the distance would have been a dead giveaway, so she just introduced herself.

"Santana. Santana Lopez."

Brittany just giggled, she actually thought she was kidding and referring to their conversation from earlier. "Okay, I know you look like her, but seriously, what's your real name."

Santana just laughed because she thought Brittany was _"just too damn cute,"_ and since they had arrived at the driver, she decided to let him confirm it for her.

"Miss Lopez. Glad to see that you arrived. I'm Jim and I'll be driving you to your hotel tonight. May I take your bags?"

Santana glanced at Brittany for a spilt second to see her confused reaction before she responded. "Yes. Thanks Jim. Um, this is my friend Brittany, and she'll be riding with me to the hotel as well."

"Good evening Miss. Can I take your bag?" He addressed a still confused Brittany.

It took a second for Brittany to respond, but she just looked at Santana and when she nodded, she gave Jim her bag without saying anything to him.

Jim walked ahead of the women with their bags leading them to his waiting vehicle.

"Are you okay?" Santana asked Brittany because she could see that she was still trying to work it out in her head.

"Um, yeah." She answered and then she turned beet red. "I feel like such an idiot." She laughed nervously.

"Why?" Santana asked scrunching her eyebrows together. The last thing she wanted was for Brittany to feel uncomfortable.

"Well for starters, because I didn't recognize you right away. Your voice should have been my first clue, and then when I did sort-of recognize you, I just assumed you were someone else and asked you if you had one of your own movies to watch! Oh and I'm especially embarrassed about all that stuff I said to you about you being beautiful and asking yourself out on date." Brittany huffed out and then she put her face in her hands. "You must think I'm so stupid!"

With that explanation, Santana stopped in her tracks, and gently grabbed Brittany by her wrists to pull them away from her face so she could look at her when she said this. "Whoa, calm down Brittany. You are _not_ stupid, and especially not for anything that you've said tonight, so please stop saying that, and really if you think about it, this is entirely my fault. I should have just introduced myself when you said something about me looking like myself, but…" She paused and sighed, "To be honest, I really enjoyed talking to you tonight, and you seemed to enjoy my company as well, and not because I'm 'Santana Lopez.' You just liked me for who I was, a nameless passenger that just happened to have a lot in common with you; and I was afraid that if I told you who I was, you'd react like everyone else does when they meet me for the first time, and you'd just see the celebrity."

"I wouldn't have done that." Brittany said looking down at her feet with a pout. "I would have been surprised that you were you, but I wouldn't have gone 'fangirl-crazy' on you."

Santana smiled at the adorable pout. "I know." She said and then lifted Brittany chin with her finger so she could look at her. "I know, I realized that after you told me that story about seeing me at that Starbucks, but lately, I haven't had a lot of luck at making new friends that like me for me, and not my celebrity status, and I just panicked. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Can you forgive me?"

Brittany just gazed up at her. "I'm not upset. I just feel silly."

"Please don't. How about we semi-start over." Santana started with a wide smile and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Santana Lopez, and you are?"

Brittany just smiled and took her hand. "Brittany Pierce and it's a pleasure to meet you Santana."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Brittany."

They shook hands and just smiled at one another, holding onto each other's hands a little longer than necessary. Santana was sure that her smile muscles would be aching by then time she went to bed, because they were definitely getting an extensive workout.

"So…" Santana said, reluctantly breaking their handshake, "How's about we catch up to Jim and get out of here. I don't know about you, but it's late, and I have an early day tomorrow."

"Sounds good." Brittany said with an unbelieving look on her face as she followed her new friend towards the car.

-()-()-()-()-

Brittany and Santana's car pulled up to The Marriott Marquis in Times Square a little before two o'clock in the morning. Jim, got out of the car and opened the door behind him to let Santana out of the car first, and then he rounded the car to open the door for Brittany.

Santana stepped out of the vehicle, and stretched. To say that she was tired was a bit of an understatement. She had started her day early, and then, after an unexpected phone call, she rushed around like a crazy person to make a five and a half hour flight to New York cramped in Coach. The only thing keeping her awake at the moment was the adrenaline that Brittany was giving her. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with her, and she was not about to let a little thing such as sleepiness keep her from doing just that.

Jim unloaded their bags from the trunk and set them on the curb. Santana then reached into her purse and gave the driver a generous tip, thanking him before he bid her farewell and went back to his car.

"So, are you ready?" Santana asked Brittany as she grabbed her bags, waving off the doorman who looked like he was going to carry them inside for her. Had she had her hands full with something else, she would have let him, but her hands were free so she was capable of carrying her own bags.

"Yeah." Brittany said as she retrieved her own bag as well, and put her hand in her pocket. She pulled out a couple of twenty-dollar bills that she had put in there earlier, because she never traveled with all her money in her purse, just in case it was stolen.

"Hey, this is for the car." Brittany said as she tried to hand the money to Santana.

"No, no, you keep that. I was coming here anyways, whether you rode with me or not." Santana responded shaking her hand. She didn't want the money. Not because she took pity on Brittany because she knew that she didn't make a lot of money, but because she had been in her position when she was first starting out and she knew that money was tight for her.

Brittany sighed. "But I-" She started, but was cut off.

"Nope, I'm not taking it." Santana said with an airy tone and put her free hand in her pocket. "You keep that and use it for your move to New York when you land that part in your show."

Brittany just gave a shy smile. Santana's comment took her by surprise. "Okay, you win this one." She said giving in; she could tell that there was no arguing with Santana over the matter.

"Yes!" Santana cheered and gave an intentional over-the-top fist pump. "Now we're even!" She said in reference to their little competition that they had inadvertently started on the plane.

Brittany laughed. "Don't get used to it."

"Bring it." Santana said with an amused smile. Yes, she realized how silly their conversation was, and had it been with anyone else, she would have been embarrassed by it, but as she had noticed before, when it came to Brittany, things were always different, and in a good way.

As the two women approached the check-in desk, they were surprised that the two employees behind the desk were busy with other guests, considering the time. Brittany took in the view around her and marveled at how beautiful everything was. She could only imagine what the rest of the hotel looked like, and if the lobby was any indication, she was sure it would be the nicest hotel that she had ever stayed in.

Santana for her part, had been there before, but she was marveling at the beauty in front of her as well, and her vision never left Brittany. She could not fight the smile that etched on her face as she watched Brittany excitedly take in her new surroundings.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it Santana?" Brittany said whispering in awe, still looking around the room.

"Yeah." Santana agreed with her, but she was not referring to the room.

When Brittany's eyes wondered back toward her, Santana had enough situational awareness to avert her eyes at the last second and look down at the marble floor. She was sure that being caught staring would have caused an awkward moment and certain embarrassment.

"Oh, the floor is beautiful too!" Brittany chirped as she looked to see what Santana found so interesting that she would be staring at it.

"It is." Santana said, this time referring to the same thing as Brittany.

"So, I was wondering, and if you're uncomfortable and don't want to, I completely understand, but I was wondering if I could have your phone number." Brittany asked, seemingly out of the blue to Santana, and she snapped her head up to look at her.

"I just figured, since we're both going to be in town for a couple of days, maybe we could hang out, you know, if you're not too busy."

"Yes!" Santana said a little quicker and louder than she intended, and then she cleared her throat. She hoped that her slight outburst was not as noticeable as she thought it was. "Yes, I'd love to hang out with you." She said, calmer this time.

"Great!" Brittany said and reached into her purse to retrieve her phone.

Santana followed suit and after their numbers were exchanged, Brittany bounced a little on the balls of her feet. "This trip is going to be so much fun! Even if I don't get my part, I'm sure this is going to be a weekend that I'll never forget."

"Why?" Santana asked. She hoped this comment was not Brittany's version of a delayed reaction to who she was, and now that she had her number, was going to go "fangirl-crazy" on her.

"Because, I get to stay at this fancy hotel, I get to audition for a _real_ Broadway show, and I get to spend some time with one of the nicest people that I know."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot that you said you had a friend that lives here. I'm sure you guys will have fun." Santana said, giving an internal sigh of relief. She had to stop doubting how sweet Brittany was.

"Rachel is nice, but I wasn't talking about her this time."

Santana scrunched her eyebrows together, "Then who-"

"I was talking about you, Silly!"

"Me?" Santana said shooting her eyebrows from their scrunched position to one that looked impossibly high.

"Yes, you!" Brittany laughed. "Didn't we already cover this on the plane?"

Santana felt a rush of heat to her cheeks. "Yeah, but I already told you, I'm not that nice."

"Yeah and I already told you I was right." Brittany playfully shot back. "Do we need to go through it again?"

Santana gave a shy chuckle, but before she got the chance to answer, one of the hotel employees was drawing their attention, letting them know that it was their turn.

"You go." Santana said, offering Brittany the chance to check-in first. She needed a minute to compose herself, because the heat that was burning behind her cheeks was spreading down her neck, and she hoped to God that it wasn't visible.

"Thanks." Brittany chirped and then took her confirmation paperwork out of her purse and approached the desk.

Santana's gaze followed Brittany over to the desk and let it rest on her back. She was lost in thought over why she was getting so worked up over a simple comment about her being nice when her internal ramblings were interrupted by the sound of Brittany's voice.

"What do you mean you can't find it? I booked this room a week ago. See, here is the confirmation number." She asked the desk clerk pointing at the paper she had laid on the desk. Santana didn't think that she sounded mad, but she certainly wasn't as happy as she was a few moments ago, and that didn't sit right with her.

"I'm sorry, but for some reason, I can't find your reservation." The man behind the desk said flatly.

"Can you please make me a new one?" Brittany asked with a frustrated sigh.

"I'm sorry Miss, but we don't have any more rooms in your category."

When Santana heard that, she knew things were not going well, and decided to go see if she could help the situation.

"What's going on Britt?"

"Oh, they can't find my reservation." Brittany sighed.

Santana picked up the paperwork that Brittany had given the clerk and read it. "She's in the right hotel, and it says right here that she has a room booked for three nights, what's the problem?" She asked the hotel clerk.

"I don't have a standard guest room left to give her. We are completely booked with weddings and conventions, but I can book her in a suite."

"A suite! How much more is that going to cost?" Brittany groaned. Her savings and credit card were already taking a hit, and she could barely afford the room that she thought she had booked.

"Nothing, Britt, this is a mistake on their end, not yours." Santana said gently, and placed her hand on her arm to help settle her.

Santana could tell that the desk clerk was indifferent to Brittany's situation, and she didn't like it. "I guess if you don't have what she reserved, you're just going to have to upgrade her."

"All I have left is the Presidential Suite and a Deluxe Suite, and I can't upgrade her to those suites."

This angered Santana. "Why not?" She practically growled at the man.

"That's not our policy. I can see if I can book her in another hotel."

"This is absurd!" Santana declared, clearly irritated with the situation. "You mean to tell me, that someone who works for this hotel made a mistake by losing her reservation and then instead of doing the right thing and upgrading her, you're just going to send her to another hotel in the middle of the night? Please tell me you're not serious right now!" Santana spat in disbelief, she honestly had never heard of something so ridiculous.

"I'm sorry Miss, but I can't upgrade her for free."

"This is ridiculous-" Santana started to go off and gripped her hands into fists, but she decided to save it for the manager. "Forget it; just let me talk to the manager." She snapped. She was pissed off and she was done talking with this asshole.

"I am the manager." The man said and pointed to his name tag that said, _"John Keck, Manager"_

Santana just stared at the tag for a few seconds, and then looked at Brittany standing next to her and how upset she seemed, so she decided to spare her anymore grief.

"You know what; I'm going to take this up with someone else later. If it wasn't so late, and we both didn't have appointments to be at in a few hours, I would cancel my reservation and we'd both leave, but since it's after two o'clock in the morning, just add her to my reservation so we both can get some sleep."

"What?" Brittany said surprised. "No, Santana, I can't let you do that."

Santana offered her a small smile. "It's fine Bitt. I have more than enough room for the both of us and I won't let you leave here in the middle of the night in search of somewhere to stay."

"But-"

"No, it's settled. If you want, we can both leave tomorrow, but it's too damn late for anyone to go anywhere at this point."

"Okay." Brittany said in a small, but grateful voice. "Thank you."

Santana's smile faded as she turned towards the unhelpful manager. "Okay, just do it so we can go." She huffed. She had lost all patience for the man.

"Can I see your ID and credit card?" John requested, seemingly unfazed by what just happened.

Santana sighed, she was just ready to go to her room and go to bed. At this point, and if she was lucky, she was going to get about three hours of sleep before her audition, so she gave him the items that he asked for and let him check them in without any snide remarks.

"Here you go Miss Lopez. Two room keys, one for you, and one for Miss Pierce." John said as he handed the keys as well as a welcome folder to her. "You're suite number and floor is written on the left hand corner of your folder. Is there anything else I can do for you ladies tonight?"

"_Yeah, quit being an asshole."_ Santana thought, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with him anymore.

"No, we've got it." She responded flatly and turned her attention to Brittany. "Come on, Britt, let's go get some sleep."

"Okay." She said following her.

While they were alone in the elevator on their way up to the forty-fifth floor, Santana glanced over at Brittany and noticed that she was looking at her with a small smile on her face.

"What?" She asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Nothing." Brittany said, evasive.

"Come on, what's on your mind?" Santana urged. She wanted to know what had Brittany looking at her like that.

"It's nothing really, I was just thinking about what just happened. That was a very kind thing you did back there for me."

"Maybe you bring out the best in me."

"I don't know about that, but I do know that you have officially become _the_ nicest person that I know."

"Stop it!" Santana said with an embarrassed laugh and turned her head. "I don't think that that is possible."

"No, I won't stop saying it. It's true. I don't do well with confrontation and I'm so thankful that you helped me out tonight."

"I couldn't very well let you leave here in the middle of the night, and I don't know, I kinda feel like we've connected or something, almost like we were meant to meet."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Brittany agreed. She too felt a connection with Santana. "It's almost like we were meant to become instant friends." She offered with a smile.

"I guess so." Santana responded with a forced smile and she felt her heart dip into her stomach from that comment.

She wanted to be more than 'just friends' with Brittany, but she still wasn't sure that anything more than a friendship was possible between them, and if a romance wasn't in the cards, she still wanted to have Brittany in her life, so if friendship was the best she could get, then she would take it wholeheartedly.

By the time Santana and Brittany entered their suite, both women were so exhausted from their long and busy day of travel that they nearly leapt for joy at the sight of a room that offered them the possibility of sleep. The only thing keeping them from doing so was the fact that they were so tired that they had no energy left to exert.

Brittany yawned as she looked around the living room area of suite. She was so tired, that she didn't even notice how nice the room looked. All she wanted to do was curl up on the couch and go to sleep. "I'm so tired." She sighed.

"Me too." Santana yawned in agreement as she peeked in the bedroom and noticed that there was only a king bed. "So, I guess I'll take the couch tonight and then-"

"Santana, no!" Brittany quickly cut her off. "There's no way I'm taking the bed while you sleep on the couch. That is completely out of the question."

"But-"

"No!"

"Come one Britt, it's late, stop arguing with me, and just take the bed." Santana practically whined. She wasn't sure why she was still insisting on Brittany sleeping on the bed, because somewhere deep down inside of her she knew that it wasn't going to fly.

Brittany signed and shook her head. She decided to change tactics. She walked up to Santana and hugged her, wrapping her arms around her neck.

Santana stiffened at first because she wasn't expecting Brittany to embrace her so suddenly, but she quickly returned the welcomed embrace by wrapping her arms around Brittany's waist. She took note as to how well they fit together, with her face nuzzled into the crook of the taller woman's neck. Brittany's scent was light and sweet and it took everything Santana had in her not to let her lips make contact with the creamy skin.

When Brittany pulled back after almost a whole minute, she let her hands rest on Santana's arms. Santana almost frowned from the loss of complete body contact, but she pulled it back into a small smile, and just took comfort in the fact that they were still embracing, even if it wasn't as close as before.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" Santana asked softly. She was afraid if she asked in her normal voice it would scare Brittany out of her arms, and she _really_ didn't want that to happen.

"Because, you're sweet." Brittany said with a shy smile. "But I'm still not letting you sleep on that couch."

Santana gave a tired chuckle and gave up; she knew she had lost. "Fine, you win. Take the couch." She actually would have preferred for both of them to sleep in the king sized bed, and she really meant sleep, but she didn't know how to voice that without it coming off as creepy.

"Thank you." Brittany said and then gave her a quick hug before she broke all physical contact. "So what time is your meeting tomorrow?"

"8am."

Brittany balked, "Eight o'clock in the morning! It's almost three!"

"I know; I hope I don't blow it."

"You never said what kind of meeting it is, is there something I can do to help you prepare?"

Santana just gave a grateful smile. "No, there's nothing you can do. It's a final reading for a new mini-series."

"Oh!" Brittany said with surprise, she was not expecting that answer, even though she knew Santana was an actress. "Why did you book a flight that got you in so late if your audition was so early?"

"Because I didn't know I had an audition today until yesterday morning."

"Huh? Did they forget to tell you?"

"I guess. I don't know why they waited to the last minute, but it doesn't matter now. I'm here, and I'm glad, because if they hadn't lost their minds and rushed me here, I may never have met you."

Brittany blushed. "I was going to say that I'm sorry they did that to you, but when you put it like that, I'm not sorry anymore."

"Yeah me either." Santana said shyly. "Anyways, what time is your audition?"

"Not 'til eleven o'clock."

"Okay. I'll try not to wake you in the morning; you need to get as much sleep as you can. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll text you and let you know when I know."

"Yeah, and I'll text you too and let you know my schedule. Maybe if you aren't too busy, we can get dinner together?" Brittany asked, hopeful.

"I'd like that." Santana eagerly answered. She was really looking forward to it now.

Brittany smiled, and then looked at her watch. "Oh, you need to get ready for bed! No more talking tonight. I'm going to change out here and then when you're done with the bathroom, I'll go wash off my make-up and brush my teeth."

"Okay, thanks Britt. Good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks. I'm sure you don't need it, but good luck to you as well."

Santana returned the sweet smile that Brittany was giving her, and then she reluctantly went into the bedroom while Brittany made do with the couch.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N**: That's the end of chapter one! Thank you so much for reading; I really hope everyone likes the story so far. If you have the chance, please let me know what you thought of the first chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Hi everyone, time for Chapter 2! So just a few things, first, this chapter is really part 1 of 2, and I've been told that it's going to feel filler-ish because of that. There is a lot of important information in this chapter and the next, but because it was getting too long (20,000+ words), I had to break it into two chapters. The good thing about that, Chapter 3 is ready and will be posted in a few days to tie this part up. I didn't post both chapters at the same time because I think it's just going to be too much to ingest at one time, so they will be posted a couple of days apart.

Again, I would like to thank **Stalpankaka** for her help with this chapter. If you haven't read her stories, please take a look. She is awesome!

Also, I would like to thank everyone who read the last chapter. With all the likes, alerts, reviews, and messages, I feel like the reaction to the story was positive, so I'm thrilled about that. I responded to everyone who left messages and reviews, but since I had anon reviewers and two signed reviewers (**JRRS** and **heath47**) who have their PM feature disabled, I want to take the time now to thank you all! You guys are great, and I appreciate your thoughts!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.

-()-()-()-()-

**Chapter 2 **

Less than three hours after she went to bed, Santana heard the alarm on her phone go off. She rolled over, turned it off, and then buried her face into her pillow.

"Ugh! I just went to bed!" She groaned into the pillow. She was still tired and didn't want to get out of her comfortable cocoon of fluffy pillows and blankets.

She allowed herself to lay there for a few more minutes before she pulled herself out of bed and trudged into the bathroom to get ready for her audition. When she walked past the sink, she saw Brittany's bathroom bag sitting next to hers on the marble counter top, and a smile found its way onto her face.

"_If only that was a permanent sight."_ She thought and then when her words set into her still foggy brain, she balked at the idea.

"_Permanent! You just met her and you're already thinking permanent?" _

Santana shook her head to rid herself of those crazy thoughts. Yes, she was crushing hard on Brittany, and yes, she absolutely wanted to date her and see where it goes, but to think of anything romantic between them as "permanent" was WAY too early at this point.

"Ok, maybe I don't want to think _permanent_, but I wouldn't mind seeing her stuff next to mine _regularly_." She whispered the amendment to herself. She thought if she said it aloud, it would have greater effect.

After a quick shower, she dried and styled her hair. When she went to get dressed, she debated over what she should wear, and narrowed it down to a few choices. Ultimately, she went with something that she thought a fashion conscious young teacher would wear, since that was the part she auditioning for, and went with a pair of tailored black dress slacks and heals, and a form fitting red blouse. She then applied her make-up, with concealer, because after a transcontinental flight and less than three hours of sleep, she had some dark circles under her eyes.

When she was ready to leave, she looked herself over one last time in the room's full-length mirror.

"Okay, Lopez, let's go to work." She said to herself and then gathered her things.

Santana planned to sneak out of the room as quietly as she could, so she wouldn't wake Brittany, but when she opened the bedroom door, she saw that she was already awake and sitting up reading.

"Oh!" Santana said with surprise.

"Hey!" Brittany said with a smile as she looked up from a magazine. "You look amazing. Red is definitely your color." She said after she took a second to take in Santana's appearance.

"Thanks. What are you doing up? Was I too loud? Did I wake you?" Santana asked, confused. She wasn't expecting to see Brittany until much later in the day.

"No, you weren't loud, I heard your alarm go off a little while ago, and I thought that you would like some breakfast to take with you." Brittany said as she picked-up a wrapped bagel and a cup of coffee sitting on the coffee table in front of her. She walked over to Santana to give them to her. "I didn't know what you would like, so I just went with a plain bagel and cream cheese and I wasn't sure if you like your coffee with cream and sugar, so this is just black, but I brought some back with me if you want to add to it."

Santana felt her heart jump in her chest from the sweet and thoughtful gesture, and a shy smile etched itself onto her face. "Brittany, this is so sweet of you. Thank you, but you didn't have to do all this."

"I know I didn't, but I wanted too." Brittany said returning the smile.

"Aww, thank you." Santana said and then looked around for Brittany's breakfast. "Where's yours?"

"Oh, I didn't get any for me. I'll probably just grab something on my way to my audition. I don't know how long I'll be there, and I might not have the chance to eat lunch, so if I eat right before, I'll be good to go for a few hours."

"Oh, okay. I'd love to sit here and eat this with you, but I have to get going."

"Yeah, sure. Do you want any cream and sugar for your coffee?"

"Um, yeah, two creams and one sugar."

"You got it!" Brittany chirped and then proceeded to add the requested items to Santana's coffee. "There you go! Have fun at your audition." She said and handed Santana her coffee and bagel.

Their fingers grazed as they were exchanging the items and Santana felt a tingle where Brittany's skin touched her own and it shot through her whole body.

"Thanks and I will." Santana said forcing her voice to sound normal. She put her wrapped bagel in her purse. "You should try to get some more rest before your own audition." She urged. She was thankful for her surprise breakfast, because she was in desperate need of caffeine, but she didn't want this to be a detriment to Brittany's audition. She had a lot more to lose by not getting her part than Santana did.

"I'm going to lay back down for a bit after you leave." Brittany said with reassurance.

"Good, and don't lie back down on that couch. I'm sure it's not very comfortable. Go lay down on the bed, okay?"

"Alright."

"Oh and set an alarm. That bed is too comfortable; I don't want you to fall into a deep sleep and miss your audition."

"Okay San!" Brittany said with a little salute and cheesy grin. She thought it was cute how Santana was fussing over her.

Santana nearly died from the look Brittany was giving her and she loved the nickname. She had never been called that before and she liked the idea of Brittany having a special name for her.

"Speaking of being late, you better go before you're late." Brittany said and motioned towards the door.

"Yeah, okay." Santana said and looked at her watch. "I'll text you later. Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it." Brittany said with a shy smile.

Santana felt heat rush to her cheeks. "Okay, I guess I'll see you later."

"Okay." Brittany said in return and pulled Santana in for a tight hug.

Santana returned the embrace as best she could since she was holding a hot cup of coffee. She felt her whole body relax at Brittany's touch. It was funny, a few minutes ago, just a simple touch from Brittany sent her senses into a tizzy, and now it was having a relaxing effect. Santana wasn't sure why her body was reacting the way that it was when Brittany touched her, but one thing she did know was that she liked it.

After a few moments, Brittany pulled back and before Santana could ask what the spontaneous hug was for, Brittany took her hand and lightly squeezed, "My dad always says 'a hug from a friend is one of the best gifts you could ever get,' so I hope it's lucky for you today and you get your part."

Santana felt her heart melt from that response and she pulled Brittany into another hug. She wrapped the arm that was holding her coffee behind Brittany's back and her free hand went to the back of Brittany's head, "Good luck today Britt." She whispered into her blonde hair.

Brittany's breath hitched and she tightened her grip around Santana's waist. "Thanks, San, you're a really good friend, and I'm sure your hug is going to bring me lots of luck."

A few moments later, Santana reluctantly broke their embrace, and made her way over to the door and opened it. She hated to leave, but she really had to leave now if she was going to be on time for her meeting. Before she walked out, she looked back at Brittany in her matching purple and floral print pajama shorts and tank top, and smiled at her. "See ya soon."

Brittany blushed and returned a shy smile. "Can't wait."

-()-()-()-()-

"Miss Lopez, she's ready for you." A young receptionist said as he approached her and then motioned to a set of closed double doors.

"Oh. Thank you." Santana said, putting her purse over her shoulder and walked towards the doors.

The receptionist opened the door for her and then left once she was in the office.

"Santana! It's great to see you again!" A tall brunette woman said cheerfully as she walked out from behind her desk to greet her with a friendly hug.

"You too Shelby." Santana said with a smile, embracing the other woman.

Usually both women would have given a handshake since this was a business meeting, but they had worked together a few times before when Shelby produced Santana's music videos so they were pretty familiar with each other.

"Please have a seat." Shelby said gesturing for Santana to sit in one of the two seats in front of her desk, and then she took her own seat.

"Thanks."

"So I'm sure you're wondering why we called you here so quickly."

Santana chuckled. "I am. You should've seen me yesterday rushing around getting my stuff together. I think it freaked out my dog. He hid under the bed."

Shelby laughed. "I'm sure that was a sight to see. Well first, I'd like to thank you for coming out here so quickly and I apologize for putting you through the stress. Normally, I wouldn't have done that to you, and as you know, you were my first choice for this part, but Will Schuester, our director wanted to see you one more time before we offered you the part. Unfortunately he got a call yesterday saying that his wife's brother was ill, so he has to leave town for a few weeks to help out."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Santana said surprised. Out of all the reasons that ran through her mind as to why they rushed her to New York that was not one of them.

"Yeah so was I. Emma and I have been friends for years and I've known her brother for almost as long as I've known her, so when Will told me about him having a stroke, it kind of hit home."

"I'm sorry. He had a stroke, how old is he?"

"Um, fifty, so he's still pretty young and it was so sudden. I think everyone's in shock."

"Yeah. I'm sure. I hope he has a full recovery."

"He stands a good chance since it was a minor stroke."

"That's good to hear." Santana said and she meant it. Even though she didn't know the man, she hated to hear news like that.

"Anyways, the reason we rushed you here was that we wanted to have all the casting done next week, and since Will will be gone for a few weeks, we thought if we could get you here for an early reading, he could be on a plane tonight to meet Emma."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'm glad I was able to get here in time."

"Me too. I hope it wasn't too much trouble." Shelby said with genuine concern.

Santana chuckled again. "It was a little bit of a mad-dash to get to the plane on time, but actually the flight went a lot better than I thought it would, so no, it was no trouble."

"Great. Will is down the hall in one of the casting rooms. Shall we go meet him so we can send him on his way to his family, and then afterwards, we'll take a short break, and then if everything goes as planned, you and I can go over some of the filming details?"

"Sounds good." Santana said with a smile. The caffeine from her coffee was kicking in, so she felt very energized. She was sure that all she had to do was go in there, give it her all, and the part was in the bag.

-()-()-()-()-

Brittany looked around the large room that she was in and watched the other dancers stretch in preparation for their audition. There were about fifty dancers there, and about half of them were going to go home disappointed. Brittany really hoped that she wasn't part of the disappointed group.

Usually Brittany was confident in her abilities, and that confidence typically showed in her dancing, but as she watched some of the female dancers warm up, she realized that she was in the presence of some very skilled and graceful dancers, and it shook her confidence a little.

The auditions were going to start soon, and they had been informed that they were going to be called at random and given several different dance routines and speaking lines to read to see what parts they would be suited for.

Brittany never really considered herself an actress. She danced, and yes, sometimes that meant that she had to act out parts, but excluding a few lines in her high school's musical productions, it never included speaking, so that part of the audition made her nervous and she hoped that she didn't mess it up. Her confidence was certainly taking a hit today, and of all times for that to happen, this was not it.

Brittany sat down beside her bag, extended her feet, and then leaned down so her torso was lying on her legs and she hooked her hands around her bottom of her feet to hold the position. She usually stretched in that position for about forty seconds, but around the twenty-second mark, her phone vibrated in her bag and interrupted her count. Since she had already lost count, she decided to check her phone before she continued her warm-up routine.

She reached over to her bag and rummaged around to find the offending device. She figured at the very least, she should put her phone on silent so if somebody tried to send her something or call her again, it would not be noticeable, because she was certain that with her luck, it would go off while she was in the with casting directors, and that would not make a good first impression.

When she found it, she unlocked the phone and noticed that she had a text message from Santana. A wide smile etched onto her face as she read the long message.

**From Santana Lopez 10:57AM:** _Hey Britt, I'm not sure if I'll catch you before you go in for your audition, but I just wanted to send you a quick message to say 'good luck' and I know that you'll do fine! Just flash them that beautiful smile and personality and knock 'em dead with your killer dance moves! They'd be crazy not to pick you. Oh and things went well here with me, I got the part! I'm on my way back to our room to go over some paperwork. See ya later for dinner. Good luck!_

Brittany felt her heart flutter from the sweet message. She was sure if anybody were to pay her any attention, they would wonder what was going on with her because she was blushing and her smile was so wide that it probably took up her whole face.

Four things from the message stood out for Brittany. First was the confidence that Santana had for her. She had known her for less than twenty-four hours and she had never seen her dance before, but she was confident that she would do fine. Brittany decided right then that if Santana was able to exert such confidence in her, then she needed to do the same for herself.

Second was the small snippet about Santana returning to _'our room.'_ It shouldn't have such an effect on her, especially since it was probably just mentioned in passing and Santana didn't mean anything special by it, but it caught her attention and she liked it being referred to as _'our room.' _

Third was the mention of them having dinner together, and that really brightened her mood. Even though she had just received a major confidence boost from the text, it also gave her something positive to look forward to, in case things went badly and she wasn't offered a callback or a part.

And fourth was the fact that Santana got her part. She was so happy for her that she fired off a quick text congratulating her.

Brittany read Santana's message one more time for luck, and then she put her phone on silent mode before returning it to its place in her bag. She resumed her warm-up with a renewed spark of confidence and decided that even if she was beat out by the other dancers, she will have no regrets about it because she will have given it her best and that was all she could do.

-()-()-()-()-

Santana walked into her suite and she felt like a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her audition was a piece of cake. She was asked to read an inspirational speech that she as a teacher in an underprivileged school would give to her students to help motivate them, and then she was given a song to sing, with no preparation, which she guessed was to see how well she could adapt to last minute changes.

Overall, it went well and she was promptly offered the part. She and Shelby spent about forty-five minutes going over the proposed filming schedule for the twelve part series that was to shoot in New York and her contract. It was the middle of May, and filming was to begin in mid-July with the first episode airing in early November.

Santana went into the bedroom of the suite to retrieve her laptop and she set it up at the large round table that was in the living room. While she waited for her computer to start up, she looked around the room and noticed all of Brittany's things by the couch. She knew it was a pullout couch, but she noticed that Brittany had not pulled it out. She just slept on the couch as it was.

Santana had mixed feelings concerning Brittany sleeping on the couch. If the hotel hadn't messed up and lost Brittany's reservation, they wouldn't be sharing a suite together, which she was thankful for because it meant that she was able to spend more time with Brittany. However, on the other hand, the way the hotel staff had treated them angered her and it upset her further that Brittany was reduced to sleeping on a hotel couch, which she imagined was not very comfortable, when compared to a cozy bed.

When her computer was ready to be used, she briefly set aside her thoughts on the matter so she could insert a thumb drive into the USB port and upload her contract onto her computer so she could email it to her lawyer to look over.

When she was finished sending her email, she went over to the phone that was in the room and called the front desk.

"_Front Desk, this is Liam, how may I assist you?"_ A voice on the other side of the line said.

"Hi, this is Santana Lopez in Suite 4501 and I would like to speak to the manager on duty."

-()-()-()-()-

Around four o'clock Brittany walked out of her audition and headed back towards her hotel. She thought her audition went well, and she felt confident while she was dancing. Even the speaking part of the audition seemed to go better than she thought it would, which surprised her, so she was definitely in a good mood. She was sure her night was only going to get better since she had plans to have dinner with Santana.

Just the thought of Santana made her smile, and then she remembered that she promised that she would text her and let her know that she was on her way back. When she pulled her phone out of her bag, she took her phone off silent mode and then she noticed that she had two text messages, one from Santana, and one from Rachel. Her smile widened, because she realized that she liked getting texts from her new friend and she was always happy to hear from her best friend and sister.

She decided to check the message from Santana first.

**From Santana Lopez 3:19 PM:** _Hey Britt, I had a talk with the manager today about last night and we've changed rooms. Stop by the concierge desk on your way up to get your new room key. We're in suite 4302._

Brittany was curious as to why they changed rooms. She figured that she would find out later when she saw Santana, so she decided to keep her return message short and sweet.

**To Santana Lopez 4:08PM:** _Hey San! On my way back. Thanks for your text earlier, it really helped! ;-) _

Then she read Rachel's message.

**From Rachel Berry 3:24PM:** _Brittany, I was wondering how your audition went? Please call me when you're finished. I have something that I'd like to talk to you about._

Brittany wondered what Rachel wanted to talk about, and guessed that she just wanted to see how her audition went and maybe set up a time to meet. She figured that she should call her now on her walk back to the hotel, because she knew Rachel had a show later that night and she wouldn't be able to talk once she was at work.

Brittany scrolled down until she found Rachel's name and she pressed call. The phone rang three times before it was answered.

"_Hello!"_ Rachel chirped into the phone.

"Hi Rachel! It's Brittany." She said enthusiastically.

"_Brittany! How nice of you to call. How did your first Broadway audition go?"_

"I think it went fine. They're going to call us tomorrow and let us know if we're called back or not. If I get a callback, I'm going to have to change my plane ticket because they said that we wouldn't do a second audition until Monday and my flight leaves on Sunday afternoon."

"_That's typical. They'll make a decision tonight and then take the weekend off; which you might want to enjoy while you have the chance, because if you're chosen you'll be working six days a week." _

"I know, and that's fine. Even if it's just a small background part, it's something to put on my résumé. Thanks again for letting me know about it."

"_That's the spirit. As soon as I heard about the project, I knew I had to tell you about it. Just know I have faith in you Brittany. Even after all these years, you're still the best dancer I know."_ Rachel said with a genuine tone.

Brittany smiled from the compliment. She knew how critical Rachel was, but she gave credit where it was due, so getting a compliment out of her was like winning the lottery.

"Thanks, Rach."

"_It's true. Oh, it seems like only yesterday we were both in the glee club singing and dancing our hearts out together! I can't believe that was six years ago! Where did the time go?"_

Brittany shrugged, even though the other woman couldn't see her. "I don't know. It sure went by fast."

"_Indeed, but at least we've had plenty of other opportunities to preform together. That little number we did for Dad and Daddy's anniversary last year was so much fun. I can't believe it's been a year since we last saw each other. We've never gone that long without a visit."_

"I know, but it's just that I haven't been able to get home since I moved out to California." Brittany said with a pout. "I guess if I get this part, we're going to get to see each other a lot more, and then it will be easier on the Dads to visit us if we're in the same city. I'm glad they came out to L.A. to see me a few months ago, but it'd be better if they could see us both at the same time."

"_Well, I for one am looking forward to it. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you."_ Rachel practically cheered into the phone.

"Me too." Brittany giggled.

"_Speaking of Dad and Daddy, did you call them yet to tell them how your audition went?"_

"No, I called them before I got on the plane yesterday and told them that I'd call them after I found out if I got a callback or not. I didn't want to get their hopes up by telling them I thought I did well and then not get a callback."

"_I'm sure you will, so try not to worry about it."_ Rachel said, trying to sound reassuring. _"So, Brittany, I was wondering, what're your plans for tonight?"_ She asked, changing the subject.

"I'm going to get a shower, and then my friend and I are going to dinner. After that, I don't know. Why?"

"_Oh, I was unaware that you had a friend that lives here."_ Rachel said surprised.

"She doesn't live here yet, she actually came out here for an audition as well. We met on the plane."

"_That sounds wonderful! It's always nice to make new friends. I was wondering, since you're in town, would you and your friend like to come to my show tonight and then meet me for drinks after?"_ Rachel offered.

"Sure that sounds like fun. I really want to see you, but I'll have to ask her first. I don't want to force her to go, and if she doesn't want to, we'll make plans to meet up over the weekend."

"_Of course. I'll leave two tickets at the box office with your name and if you're able to make it, just text me and let me know. The show starts at eight, so just make sure you're there by seven-thirty so you can get your tickets and seats without having to rush."_

"Okay, thanks Rachel. That's so nice of you."

"_You're welcome. The Marquis Theater is right next door to your hotel, so you won't have to go too far, and I thought that if we meet up for drinks afterwards, the Broadway Lounge in the Marriott would be a good meeting place."_

"Sounds good." Brittany chirped.

"_Well, I must be going. I have to be at the theater early today. Apparently the director wants to have a cast meeting before the show." _

"Okay, I have to go too. I'm just getting to my hotel. Have fun tonight and hopefully I'll see you later."

"_Alright. You have fun with your friend."_ Rachel offered and then bid her farewell.

Brittany hung up the phone and then walked into the hotel to retrieve her new room key. Thankfully, there was no line at the concierge desk, so she picked up her key and arrived to her new room in record time.

When Brittany entered the room, she saw Santana sitting in one of the chairs in the living room reading. She was going to greet her until she noticed that Santana was actually asleep. She had her head propped up on the back of the chair with her mouth slightly open, her legs spread out over the ottoman and her hand was barely holding onto the papers that she had once been reading. Brittany thought that Santana looked absolutely adorable and at peace in her restful state, so she decided to take a shower and give her a few more minutes to sleep.

Brittany carefully removed the papers from the Santana's hand, so they wouldn't fall on the floor, and placed them neatly on the coffee table near an empty folder. She then took the small throw blanket that was lying on the couch and spread it out over Santana so she would be warm. Brittany thought that a blanket would not only keep her warm, but also help her sleep better and feel more secure. She knew that worked for her, so she tried it with Santana.

Before she left to shower, Brittany looked over Santana one more time to see that she was alright and when she was satisfied that she looked comfortable enough, she went into the bedroom and saw her suitcase laying by Santana's. She guessed that Santana had repacked her stuff for the room change so she kneeled down and unzipped the bag so she could locate her bathroom bag and pajamas.

Once she found her things, she quietly went into the bathroom, undressed and turned on the shower. She was in the mood for a muscle-relaxing hot shower. When the temperature was warm enough, she stepped into the shower and just let the hot water cascade over her body. She felt a little stress leave her body and honestly, she didn't even realize that she was stressed, but she just figured that her audition against several talented dancers had worn on her nerves a bit.

After her shower, Brittany felt so clean and relaxed. It almost made her feel like she was a new person with how refreshed she felt. She brushed her teeth, and then put on her pajamas and rolled her wet hair up in her towel. She decided that she would let her hair air-dry for a while before she dried it with her hair dryer.

When she stepped back into the living room, she noticed that her plan to cover Santana up had worked, because she had rolled onto her side so her cheek was pressed into the chair's cushion and she had the blanket in her hand, tucked under her chin. She looked so calm and comfortable, and the rhythm of her light breathing sounded so soothing. Brittany allowed herself to watch Santana sleep for a few more minutes before she woke her. It was almost five o'clock so they needed to start making a move if they were going to go to dinner, and hopefully make it to Rachel's show on time.

Brittany sat on the ottoman and reached over to tuck a few strands of loose hair behind Santana's ear and then she lightly ran her finger up and down the curve of her jaw in an effort to wake her gently instead of shaking her and potentially startling Santana out of her slumber.

Brittany pulled her hand back into her lap when Santana stirred and started blinking repeatedly to clear her vision from its sleepy state.

"Brittany?" Santana groaned.

"Yeah, it's me San, sorry to wake you." Brittany cooed. _"She's cute when she's half asleep."_ She thought.

"It's fine. What time is it?" Santana yawned looking around the room trying to regain her bearings.

"Just before five."

"Oh, okay." Santana whispered and then sat up. She rubbed her eyes with her fingers and then yawned again.

"How long have you been sleeping?" Brittany asked.

"Umm, about an hour and a half. I sat down to read after I moved us and I must have passed out."

"You didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Are you feeling any better?" Brittany asked and placed a comforting hand onto Santana's hand that was on her leg.

"Y-yeah." Santana said with a hitch in her voice when Brittany started to rub her hand with her thumb. She wasn't expecting Brittany to take her hand. "I mean the nap helped." She said, clearing her throat. "I'm sure once I wake up, I won't feel tired anymore."

"That's good." Brittany said with a smile.

"Hey, I almost forgot, how'd your audition go?"

"Oh, I think it went fine. The dancing went well, but they gave me lines to read, so I don't know. I think it went okay, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow when they call to let me know if I got a callback or not."

"I'm sure it went fine." Santana said trying to sound reassuring.

"I hope you're right." Brittany giggled and she removed her hand from Santana's, placing it back into her own lap.

Santana missed the contact from their hands touching right away. "So anyways, I see that you've showered. I guess I better get one too before we go out."

"Okay." Brittany said and then stood up so Santana could get out of the chair. "I want to ask you something before you go, and if you don't want to do it, don't feel like you have to."

"Sure. What's up?" Santana asked as she stood up and stretched.

"I talked to Rachel earlier, and she offered us tickets to go see her show tonight, and then she wants to meet for drinks afterwards, so I was wondering if you'd like to do that? If you don't want to, or you want to do something else, that's fine too."

"Yeah, Britt, that sounds like fun. What show is it again? I know you said last night, but I can't remember."

"Evita."

"Oh! That's just next door. I haven't seen 'Evita' yet. We'll, I've seen the movie with Madonna, but not the stage version."

"I haven't seen the show either, and I've lost count how many times I watched that movie with Rachel, but I think it would be nice to see it in person, especially since it's Rachel show."

"Sounds like a plan. Well, I better get ready." Santana said heading towards to bedroom.

"Okay. I'll dry my hair in the bedroom while you're showering." Brittany said following her.

Santana nodded, and then flicked on the lights in the room. "I had them switch our room earlier because when I talked to the day manager about what happened last night, he said they had a suite available that had two beds, so as long as you don't mind sharing a room with me, you can sleep on the other bed instead of the couch. I'm sure it would be a lot more comfortable."

"Yeah that would be great! I think I was just so tired that I didn't really notice the couch being too uncomfortable, but after you left this morning I crawled into your bed and it was super comfortable, so thank you!" Brittany chirped.

"You're welcome." Santana said with a smile. "So which bed do you want?"

"Umm…I don't think it matters. I guess this one's fine." Brittany said and pointed to the bed that was closest to her, which was the one furthest away from the window.

"Okay, cool." Santana said and then picked up her bag and set it on the foot of her bed. She opened it and got out her own bathroom bag.

"Where do you want to eat tonight?" Brittany asked as she searched her bag for her hair dryer.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, along with moving us into a better room, the manager also gave us vouchers for dinner at both restaurants in the hotel, a voucher for their breakfast bar, the lounge, and a spa package, so dinner tonight is on the hotel."

"Really?" Brittany said surprised. "Why?"

"The day manager is a lot more reasonable than the night manager, so after I talked to him about what happened, he apologized for how you were treated and gave us all these vouchers to try and make up for it."

"Oh. He didn't have to do all that. That stuff isn't really what's important. I just don't want anyone else to have to go through that. I was so scared I was going to have to wander around Times Square at night looking for another place to stay. I could've called Rachel, but I really didn't want to wake her that late. She would've been really worried."

"I know." Santana said and took Brittany's hand to help calm her. She could see the situation still bothered her. "I talked to him about that. He assured me that he was going to have a talk with the other manager, and he sounded sincere when I talked to him, so I think he'll do something about it. But if it makes you feel better, I'll call him tomorrow and check."

"No, that's fine. As long as it was brought to his attention, that's enough for me." Brittany said, squeezing Santana's hand lightly to thank her.

"Do you want me to send back all those vouchers?" Santana reluctantly asked as she tucked a strand of Brittany's hair that fell into her face behind her ear. She hoped that Brittany wanted to keep the vouchers, mainly because she was really looking forward to a spa day with Brittany, but if Brittany wanted to give them back, she would.

"Well…" Brittany said with a sly smile. "As long as they're here, I guess there's no harm in keeping them."

"Great!" Santana practically cheered. "I was thinking that Sunday would be a good spa day."

"Oh. I might have to leave Sunday." Brittany said with a pout.

Santana frowned and she let go of Brittany's hand. It wasn't a conscience decision; her body just did it out of disappointment. She forgot that Brittany had only planned to stay for three nights, but then a word caught her attention. "What do you mean by _'might'_?"

"If I get that callback tomorrow, I'll have to change my flight, because they're doing round two of auditions on Monday."

"Oh." Santana whispered and she nervously played with her bathroom bag now that she wasn't holding Brittany's hand. She _really_ hoped that Brittany got that callback now, and not just because she knew how much she wanted to get a part, but also because Santana wasn't ready for their time together to end.

"Hey, I have an idea, and you don't have to if you don't want to, because I know you have your job at the pet store and dance school, but if you get that callback and you have to stay, or even if you don't get it, I'm going to be here 'til Friday, so if you want, you could stay here with me and then we can fly back to L.A. together." Santana rambled off quickly.

She realized that she probably sounded insane, and she was starting to regret saying anything because usually she was a lot smoother than this, but it just seemed that ever since she met Brittany, she was doing a lot of things that she wouldn't usually do.

"You want me to stay with you 'til Friday?" Brittany asked with her eyebrows raised in surprise.

Santana felt a rush of heat to her cheeks. "Umm…y-yeah, if you want. I have a few business things to take care of while I'm here, but I'm probably going to have a good amount of down time this week, so if you have to stay…or you want to stay, we could make a little vacation out of this trip." She offered and then looked down at her feet. She was anticipating rejection because she was sure she just freaked Brittany out if that stunned look she was giving her was any indication.

"Okay sure." Brittany said after a moment and Santana snapped her head up to look at her.

"Really?!" Santana let out a breath that she didn't realize that she was holding, and she thought that she really meant that more as a rhetorical question than one for Brittany. She was not expecting her to actually take her up on her crazy offer.

"Yeah. I haven't had a vacation in a while, and I've only been to New York one other time for a competition." Brittany said with a smile. "Plus, I like spending time with you, so I think it'll be fun."

Santana returned a bashful smile. "I like spending time with you too."

"Well, it looks like we're going to have a whole week to get to know each other better." Brittany chirped and playfully took Santana's hand again.

"Yeah, I guess so." Santana said and she squealed on the inside because Brittany took her hand again.

"I'll call work tomorrow and let them know that I need a few more days off."

"Are you going to get into trouble?"

"No, I'm not scheduled to work at the studio this week and my boss at Furry Tails is great and she lets me have all the time off I want. It's just a small store and it really only takes one person to run it, but I think Shannon just hired me so she'd have some company. She's divorced and I really think she's lonely. Sometimes after work, I spend the night at her house and we have movie night or we play board games together because I know she hates going home alone, but I don't let her know that I know."

"Aww Britt, that's really sweet of you." Santana cooed. She loved her compassion.

"She's really nice and a good friend, and I hate to see her sad all the time."

"I'm sure she loves having you as a friend." Santana smiled. "I know I do."

Brittany blushed and nodded.

"_Cute!" _Santana though regarding a shy Brittany.

A comfortable silence fell over them and they looked at each other for a few moments, but when it became too much, Santana shyly broke eye contact and then she noticed the time.

"Umm, Britt what time is our show?"

"Eight, but Rachel said to be there at seven-thirty."

"Crap, it's almost five-thirty. I'm going to take a quick shower and get dressed." Santana said and let go of Brittany's hand so she could gather her things.

"Okay. Don't rush; I'm sure we have plenty of time."

Santana hopped in the shower and took the quickest shower she had ever taken. She was in and out in less than ten minutes, and that was a feat considering she washed herself and shaved. She was lucky that she didn't cut herself.

Thirty minutes later, they were both dressed and almost ready to go out for the evening. Santana was in the bathroom finishing her make-up when there was a knock at the door.

"Hey Britt, I'm almost done in here, can you get it?" Santana called into the living room.

"Sure." Brittany replied and went to the door. When she opened it, she was a little surprised to see a hotel waiter carrying a tray with a large bowl of strawberries, a bottle of Champagne in an ice bucket, and two champagne flutes. "Umm…hello?"

"Good evening Miss. Mr. Keck, the manager, asked me to bring this up."

"Uh, are you sure this is the right room? We didn't order this." Brittany said confused.

"Mr. Keck sends this with his compliments and there is a note as well."

"Oh, okay. You can leave it on the coffee table."

"Thank you." The waiter said and entered the room complying with Brittany's request. "Is there anything else I can get you this evening?"

"No, thanks." Brittany said with a smile, and then reached into her purse and gave him a tip for bringing the surprise refreshments. She walked him to the door and then closed it behind him.

"Who was it?" Santana called from the bathroom.

"A waiter with strawberries and champagne." Brittany answered.

"What?" Santana asked; confused by the answer, and then a moment later she appeared in the living room to see what she was talking about. "Did they send it to the wrong room?"

"No. I asked. He said the manager sent it and he also sent a note."

"Which manager?" Santana asked as she quirked a curious eyebrow.

"Mr. Keck."

"Oh? That is surprising. I guess the other manager had that talk with him after all. What'd the note say?"

"I don't know, I didn't read it." Brittany answered and then reached for the envelope, handing to Santana.

Santana opened the envelope and briefly looked over the hand written note before she read it aloud so Brittany would also know what it said.

_Dear Miss Lopez and Miss Pierce, _

_I wanted to send you a quick note to say that I had a conversation with Donald James this evening about your concerns over the events that took place when you checked in last night. I send my sincerest apologies for my regretful behavior, and I want you to know that it won't happen again. _

_Please accept this bottle of champagne and strawberries as a token of my remorse as well as my gratitude for your continued patronage to Marriott Hotels. If there's anything that I can assist you with during your stay, please don't hesitate to let me know._

_Sincerely,_

_John Keck_

"Looks like he got the message." Brittany said with a smile.

Santana was a little more skeptical of his sudden turn around, but there was nothing more she could do about the situation in its present state, so she let it go. "I hope so."

"So, what do you want to do with it?" Brittany asked.

Santana took the bottle out of the ice bucket so she could examine it. "We definitely don't want to let this bottle go to waste. It's Dom Perignon."

"Is that good?" Brittany asked. She was not well versed in champagne brands. The closest she ever got to champagne was at a wedding or New Year's Eve and even then, she was sure that she had only ever had the cheap stuff.

"Yeah." Santana said with a nod. "This is at least $200 a bottle."

"No way!" Brittany snapped and took the wet bottle out of Santana's hand so she could look at it. "Why would he send us such an expensive bottle of champagne?"

"I guess he was sorry." Santana said because she wanted Brittany to believe it, but in the back of her mind, there was a cynical voice that said that he might be more concerned about keeping his job than anything else.

"Well that was nice of him. Do you wanna open it now? We could make a toast for you getting your part in your show."

Santana felt heat rush to her face again. "That's sweet Britt, but let's wait until you get your callback and then we can make a toast for the two of us."

"Okay." Brittany said shyly, blushing as well. She was taken aback by how confident Santana was about her getting a callback, especially since she had never seen her dance, but she just put it down to Santana being a nice person and wanting her to have a positive outlook on the situation.

"I'm going to put everything in the fridge." Brittany said and then took the tray into the kitchenette area. When she returned she saw Santana pull her purse onto her shoulder. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep." Santana said with a smile.

"You look awesome. Everyone is going to be staring at you tonight." Brittany said with a smirk.

"No, they aren't going to be staring at me." Santana stated and she noticed Brittany's eyebrows knit in protest. "They're going to be staring at _us_. Can you imagine the hotness that is going to be radiating from our table tonight?" She joked. "I hear that we have the ability to make people break-up with their significant others, just by looking at us."

"Oh my god!" Brittany groaned, turning beet red as she buried her face into her hands. She almost forgot about that embarrassing conversation from the plane.

"What's the matter Britt?" Santana said with mock innocence.

Brittany took her still flushed face out of her hands and glanced at Santana. "Nothing, I was just taking an embarrassing trip down memory lane."

Santana laughed. "I'm just messing with you Britt, you look great, and if anyone walks up to you tonight after breaking up with their girlfriend to ask you out on a date, just know I'm going to take issue with that. This is our vacation." She said with a playful tone and wink.

If it was possible, Brittany blushed a little more. "Okay. I'm all yours."

-()-()-()-()-

Brittany and Santana followed the host of the Crossroads American Kitchen & Bar to a conveniently placed cozy corner table for two. Once they were seated, they were handed their menus.

"Are you going to get a drink?" Brittany asked as she looked over the drink menu. She felt like having a glass of wine, but if Santana wasn't going to drink, she wouldn't either.

"Yeah. I was thinking about having a glass of Chardonnay. You?"

"I think I'm going to go with the Moscato."

"Oh, so you like the sweet wines." Santana said with a smile.

"Yeah. Moscato is my favorite, but I'll drink almost any kind of white wine. I don't like red wine at all." Brittany said and made a 'bleck' face.

Santana giggled. "Yeah, I'm with you. I don't do red wine either, unless it's in Sangria, but that's where I draw the line. I don't mind Moscato, but Chardonnay is my favorite though."

"Cool." Brittany said with a smile.

After their drink orders were taken and returned, they ordered their food, where Santana ordered salmon, and Brittany ordered chicken.

"Hey, so while we're waiting for our food, let's play a game?" Brittany suggested with a wide smile.

"What kind of game?" Santana asked and raised a curious eyebrow.

"Um, a game to get to know each other a little better. It's similar to 20 Questions, only they don't have to be yes or no answers, or limited to only twenty questions, and we both have to answer the question."

"Sounds fun."

"Do you wanna go first?" Brittany offered.

"Sure. So where do you live? Santana asked. She realized that she hadn't asked that yet. She just knew that Brittany lived somewhere around L.A.

"Redondo Beach."

"That's a nice area."

"Yeah, it is nice. I like it there, but I just got lucky, it's an expensive area. When I moved to California, I sat next to an older couple on the plane who were flying back from seeing their grandchildren, and we started talking and we really got along, so when I told them that I was just going to stay at a hotel for a few days until I found a place, they offered to rent me the apartment above their garage. They gave me a really good deal on it. Its fully furnished and they only charge me $500 a month."

"Damn, that is good."

"Yeah, Jack and Mary are so sweet."

"It sounds like it."

"So where do you live?" Brittany asked.

"Beverly Hills. I bought a house there about two years ago."

"Cool. Is it one of those big houses that all the celebrities get?" Brittany said joking.

Santana chuckled. "Umm, I guess that depends on your perspective. It's big to me because I moved out of a two-bedroom apartment into a four-bedroom house, but compared to a lot of the houses in the area, it's a bit small, but I'm happy with it. I don't need a big mansion for just me. I think that would be a little ridiculous."

Brittany smiled. She liked that Santana didn't seem stuck up. "So where are you from originally?" Brittany asked.

"Ohio." Santana said and took a sip of her wine. She was actually surprised that Brittany didn't already know that answer. Most people had already looked that up on the internet.

"Really? Me too!" Brittany cheered. "I'm from Lima."

"Oh, I'm from Akron, so I guess we grew up only a couple of hours from each other."

"What high school did you go to? I went to McKinley so my Glee club competed against Vocal Adrenaline from Carmel."

"No way! I went to Carmel! I wasn't part of the glee club though. Their coach was an arrogant ass." Santana stated with a nod.

"Is that why you didn't join the glee club, because you didn't like the coach?"

"Yeah, he creeped me out, so I became a cheerleader."

"I was a cheerleader too. I was the captain of the Cheerios my senior year. We won a couple of national titles while I was on the team. I wonder if we competed against each other."

"We might have, but we didn't win any titles, Carmel put all its money and focus on Vocal Adrenaline, so the other teams and clubs kinda suffered because of that."

"I wonder if you know Rachel's roommate. He was in Vocal Adrenaline, Jesse St. James?"

"Yeah I know him. He's a couple of years older than I am. He dated a friend of mine for a couple of months, so I spent some time hanging out with him. He was okay, full of himself, but he could sing."

Brittany giggled; she knew what she meant about Jesse being full of himself. "Yeah, I know. Rachel dated him in high school for a little while during our sophomore year. The distance and the 'arch-rival' thing eventually broke them up, but they both went to college in New York. She went to NYADA and he went to NYU, and eventually they ran into each other again and reconnected. They're pretty good friends now, and they're both acting in 'Evita' together."

"Huh, small world." Santana mused. She once heard that there was only six degrees of separation between everyone in the world, so she thought it was impressive that there were only two degrees separating them.

"Yeah I guess so. Okay, your turn to ask a question." Brittany chirped.

"Did you go to college?"

"Yep, I went to Ohio State for Dance. I graduated two years ago. How about you?"

"I went to UCLA for a year and a half, but I dropped out when I got my 'big break' as they say."

"What was your major?"

"I was undeclared. I didn't know what I wanted to do other than sing and act, but that was no guarantee, so I took all my core classes before I had to declare a major."

"It looks like it worked out for you." Brittany said with a smile.

Santana smiled and nodded. "Okay, your turn.

"When's your birthday?" Brittany inquired.

"June 27th, 1994."

"Mine's August 25th, 1994"

"So we're only a couple of months apart." Santana said.

"Yeah, I guess we're both summer babies." Brittany said smiling. "Next question."

"Umm…" Santana said with a pause, "Do you have any pets?"

"I have a cat. He's about five years old. The humane society was having an adoption event at Shannon's store right after I started working for her. As soon as I saw him, I knew I had to take him home. His name is Lord Tubbington."

Santana quirked an amused eyebrow. "That's an interesting name. How'd you come one up with that?"

Brittany reached into her purse and pulled out her phone so she could show Santana a picture. "Guess."

Santana studied the picture of a very chubby cat that had an air of superiority to him. "Um, because he's tubby and thinks he owns the place?" She guessed; really, she had no idea.

Brittany beamed and took Santana's hand very excitedly. "You're the first one to get that! Everyone else just thinks I was being silly when I named him."

Santana chuckled and she felt her hand start to tingle as Brittany lightly squeezed it. "I guess we're connecting on a whole different level if I got that one right."

"I guess so." Brittany agreed. "So do you have any pets?"

"Yeah, I have a Bichon Frise-Poodle mix named Max; he's twenty two months old."

"Do you have a picture?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah." Santana said and then reached for her purse. She had to let go of Brittany's hand to get her phone out of her zipped purse, which she didn't like, but Brittany excitement to see a picture of Max made up for the loss of physical contact.

"Aww, he's cute!" Brittany cooed and took Santana's phone from her so she could get a better look. "I love his gray streak."

"Me too, that's how he got his name. His whole litter was white, except for him, he was solid black except for his gray streak above his right eye, and it reminded me of Maxwell Sheffield from 'The Nanny', so I named him Max."

"I love that show. Rachel and I used to watch it all the time, and come to think of it, I always did like Maxwell's hair. I think you picked a perfect name for him." Brittany said with a wide smile and handed Santana her phone back.

Santana wasn't sure if it actually happened or if she just imagined it, but she thought she felt Brittany's fingers linger on her own in the exchange. She hoped it was true, but either way, just the thought of Brittany doing that made her smile.

"Yeah, he's my baby. He's spoiled, but very sweet."

"Lord Tubbington's my baby too, but he's a bit of a handful. He smokes, and I think he joined a gang which is fueling his ecstasy addiction."

Santana didn't know what to make of that statement, but she just put it down to Brittany messing with her, so she played along. "Maybe you should try rehab."

"We tried it already, and it worked for a while, but I think he needs to make better friends who don't encourage bad behavior."

"Hmm, we should introduce him to Max. He'd be a good influence, and he loves cats. My friend Quinn has two cats and they're like his best friends."

"Totally! Maybe they'll become fast friends, just like we did."

"Let's hope so." Santana said. "Okay, your turn."

"What do you like to do on in your spare time?" Brittany asked.

"I like to read, watch movies, hangout with my friends, cook, you know the normal stuff."

"Yeah me too, although I don't cook. Recipes confuse me."

"Oh, I can help you with that if you want. I used to cook with my mom all the time. When I was younger, she used to say that cooking was the way to a man's heart and if I wanted to find a good one, I'd better learn how to cook. I guess that didn't work out so well for me, did it?" Santana chuckled.

Brittany giggled. "I guess not, but it's also a good way to woman's heart. I think anyone I end up with is going to have to know how to cook, because I could burn water."

"Oh come on you can't be that bad."

"I am. Seriously, once I was helping Rachel make some different dishes for a dinner party our parents were having and I was in charge of making the corn muffins, and I didn't know the difference between a tablespoon and a teaspoon, so I added way too much salt and ruined them. The worst part about it was that we didn't realize the mistake until we went to eat them. Needless to say, I wasn't allowed to help in the kitchen anymore without supervision."

"Oh that's not too bad, everyone does that at least once."

"I destroyed a microwave once because I was heating up a cup of noodles and I must have put it in for too long, because it exploded all over the inside. For weeks, every time we used the microwave it smelled of bad Chinese food and we eventually had to get rid of it."

"Are you serious?" Santana said stifling a laugh. She had never heard of such a thing.

"100%. Oh and you don't even want to hear my sugar cookie story. Let's just say I mistook baking soda as baking powder. They were horrible! Rachel and I nearly choked on them. I thought I would feed them to the ducks at the park so they wouldn't go to waste, but even they wouldn't eat them."

Santana couldn't help but laugh at Brittany's misfortune in the kitchen. "Okay, stop! I believe you; you're bad in the kitchen!"

"I told you, so yes, anyone who wants to find a way to my heart needs to know who to cook, not only for my benefit but for their own personal safety!"

Santana was still laughing and Brittany had joined in as well. "That's good to know."

By the time they calmed down from their giggle fit, the waiter brought over their meals.

"Oh, it all looks _sooo_ good." Brittany chirped.

"Yeah it does. I hope it tastes as good as it looks, I'm starving." Santana said, practically salivating.

"Me too."

Santana took a bite of her food and then remembered that it was her turn to ask a question and she definitely had a subject that she wanted to 'casually' bring up.

"Anyways, so speaking about finding a way to your heart, I know on the plane you said you haven't found 'the one,' but are you dating anyone?"

Brittany blushed and when she finished chewing, she answered. "No, not at the moment. I was a couple of weeks ago, but it just didn't feel right. He was nice, but I couldn't see myself staying with him for the long-haul so I ended it before it went too far."

Santana was happy to hear that Brittany was single, but she wanted to deflate with disappointment at hearing that the last relationship that Brittany was in was with a man. Her saving grace at the moment was that it just meant Brittany wasn't a lesbian. She could be bisexual. She certainly hoped this was the case because she was developing _very_ strong, more than friendly feelings for Brittany and she was desperately hoping that Brittany was developing those kinds of feelings as well.

She knew that they touched and held hands a lot, way more than she and her other friends tended to do, and they both acknowledged that they felt a connection with each other, but she just hoped it wasn't a purely platonic connection for Brittany, because she had no desire to pine after a straight woman. It only led to heartbreak and she had enough of that without adding to it.

"What about you?"

Santana shook her head. "No, the last girl I dated was all wrong. At first, she seemed great but after a while, it seemed like she liked the idea of being my girlfriend because she thought it would boost her celebrity status. She didn't act like a real girlfriend when the cameras weren't around, if that makes any sense."

"She played it up for the cameras but behind closed doors she was mean?" Brittany asked with genuine concern.

"No, she wasn't mean, she was just emotionally detached. She was in it for the fun and nothing else. I mean, I know I've had my fair share of casual flings where we were both that way, but I don't want that anymore. I want to have a meaningful relationship with a woman where I can see myself one day settling down with her."

Santana was actually surprised that she said all that. One word answers and deflection were typically her M.O. when asked questions like that because she hated talking about her feelings, and opening herself up to vulnerability. Hell, it was hard for her closest friends to get anything out of her when it came to her emotions. Kurt and Quinn were probably her best friends and while she trusted them completely, she still had trouble opening up completely to them when it came to her heart, but with Brittany, she just seemed to open up, and for some inexplicable reason, she felt like she could trust her with her feelings. Santana had never been like that with anyone, and certainly not with someone she just met, so needless to say, it was confusing the hell out of her.

"Oh San, that's terrible. You deserve so much better than that." Brittany said and took Santana's hand, hoping that it would offer her some comfort.

"Thanks." Santana said with a small smile and she allowed herself to enjoy the physical contact for a few moments before she said in a flat tone, "Your turn."

Santana was ready for a change in subject, because even though it was her idea to go down this line of questioning, it hadn't gotten her any closer to a concrete answer about Brittany's relationship preferences, and it had succeeded in making her feel even lonelier than she already was.

Brittany brought her hand back into her lap and then took a few bites of her food before she asked another personal question, because she was still processing Santana's answer and reaction to her own question.

"How's your food?" Brittany asked instead. She thought that they needed a break from their 'Getting to Know You' game, because she could tell the last question had unsettled Santana.

"Good." Santana said flatly. "How's yours?"

"Fine." Brittany answered with a small sigh and took a large gulp from her wine glass.

The first uncomfortable silence of their friendship settled between them as they ate, and neither one of them knew what to say to get things back on track. Thankfully it didn't last too long because the waiter came over to refill their water glasses and offer them desert.

"None for me." Santana said as she put her napkin over her plate to signal that she was finished.

The waiter then turned to Brittany. "Any for you Miss?"

"No, thank you. I think I ate enough."

"Okay, I'll be back with your check." He said and then left with their plates.

"I thought this was free meal?" Brittany asked; confused as to why they needed a check.

"It is Britt, we just have to give him the voucher, and we have to know how much the bill is so we know how much to tip him."

"Oh." Brittany said nodding. "I guess that would suck for him if we skipped out on that. Not that we would do that on purpose."

"I know we wouldn't, but you can't imagine how many people either cheap out or skip out of the tip completely. I was a waitress for about a year after I moved to L.A. and when people skimped on the tip, it really sucked."

"And look at you now, you're doing great." Brittany said with a smile.

"I know, and I have no doubt that we will be saying that about you soon." Santana said with confidence.

"Well, if _The_ Santana Lopez is saying that about me, who am I to argue?" Brittany teased with a playful smirk and a wave of her hand.

"Damn straight I'm right! People should just realize I'm awesome and learn to stop doubting me." Santana said with a haughty tone, her nose up in the air and her arms crossed over her chest. When she peaked at Brittany, they both started to giggle at their silliness, and just like that, the awkwardness surrounding them was gone.

Once the bill and tip was taken care of, Brittany stood up and held out her hand to help Santana out of her seat.

"Let's get out of here." Brittany said with a smile and held on tight to Santana's hand when it seemed like she was going to let go after standing.

Santana noticed the tightened grip on her hand and it sent a wave of warmth through her whole body. "Lead the way." She cooed, he own smile just as wide as Brittany's. At that moment, Santana would have followed Brittany anywhere.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N**: How did everyone feel about that chapter? Still liking the story? Like I said, this is part 1 and the next chapter will be posted in a couple of days, so you don't have too long to wait. I'd love to see what everyone thinks about the story so far, so if you have time, let me know!

As always, thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Hey everyone, here's Chapter 3, which is really just part two of Chapter 2.

Again, thank you to **Stalpankaka** for all her help with this chapter. If you have time, please check out her stuff.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.

-()-()-()-()-

**Chapter 3**

"Wow, these are great seats!" Brittany whispered as she and Santana sat down in their seats in the front row of the center Mezzanine.

It had taken a little longer than they thought it would to get their tickets from the box office, so they arrived at their seats only a few minutes before the show started.

"Yeah." Santana said, impressed. She looked out over the stage before she settled into her seat and started to flip though her playbill.

When she got to the cast list, she saw that Jesse was playing Juan Peron, which she wasn't surprised to see that he was playing the second male lead in a major Broadway musical. Then she noticed that a Rachel was playing Eva Peron and a Rachel was playing one of the smaller roles, so she wondered which one they were there to see.

"Hey Britt," Santana whispered, leaning into her, "what part is Rachel playing?"

Brittany turned and gave her a proud smile, "Eva."

"Really?" Santana said in surprise, raising her eyebrows. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason she wasn't expecting that answer.

"Yeah, she's great. Wait until you hear her sing, she'll blow you away with how good she is."

"Okay." Santana said with a smile, taking in Brittany's excitement.

A couple of seconds later, the lights dimmed, signaling that the show was about to start, so Santana reluctantly broke eye contact and focused on the show.

By the time they were halfway through 'Buenos Aires,' Santana was starting to agree with Brittany's assessment of Rachel, she was good, but after she heard her sing 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina,' Santana was convinced that she was better than good.

"You weren't kidding Britt, she's really, really good." She whispered.

Brittany smiled and nodded. "I told you."

"I know you did, but she's surpassed my expectations. Like, she's frickin' amazing!"

"Mm-hmm." Brittany hummed and then turned back to the play.

They didn't look at each other again until Santana heard Brittany sniffle during the song where Eva knew she was going to die and she was pledging her eternal love to the people of Argentina. When Santana looked at her, she saw tears threatening to spill out of Brittany's blue eyes.

"You okay, Britt?" She asked.

Brittany nodded and wiped her eyes. "Yeah."

Santana nodded as well and then took Brittany's hand into her own and rubbed her thumb over the top. Brittany responded by giving a grateful squeeze but her eyes never left the stage. They held hands all the way through the rest of the show and only parted when it came time for the applause.

"Oh my goodness that was so good! Rachel was incredible!" Brittany chirped as they clapped waiting for the curtain call.

Santana agreed with her. Not only was the singing good, but Rachel's acting skills were spot on. By the time Jesse came out onto the stage, Santana's hands were starting to hurt from all the clapping, but since she knew Jesse from school and thought he performed well, she clapped a little harder. When it was Rachel's turn to come out on stage, nobody clapped or cheered as loud and as hard as Brittany did, when she joined the rest of the cast on stage.

Santana couldn't help but watch as Brittany conveyed as much pride and joy as she could for Rachel and she laughed when Brittany turned to the woman standing next to her and very excitedly pointed down to the stage and said, "That's my sister!"

-()-()-()-()-

"What would you like to drink Britt?" Santana asked as she looked over the cocktail menu in the Broadway Lounge of the Marriott.

They were fortunate to get a table next to a window that had a great view of Times Square, which was currently occupying Brittany's attention, so much so, that she didn't even hear Santana's question.

When Brittany didn't answer, Santana tried again a little louder. "Britt?"

"Huh?" She said, and snapped her attention back to Santana, noticing that a waiter was there to take their order.

"What are you having?" Santana asked.

"Oh, um, cranberry and vodka." Brittany said with a sheepish smile.

"Okay. Do you know what Rachel would want, that way her drink is waiting for her by the time she gets here?"

"Yeah, she likes Amaretto Sours. But let's wait, I don't know how long she's going to be and I don't want it to be watered down by the time she gets here."

"Alright." Santana said and then turned to the waiter, "I'll have a Captain and Ginger."

"Yes, Miss, I'll be right back with these." He said and left.

"So, the show was great. I'm glad we went." Santana said.

"Yeah me too. I'm glad I got to see Rachel perform. I've see her perform a lot over the years, but to see it on a real Broadway stage is just mind blowing. I finally understand what our parents were feeling when they told me they cried the first time they saw her in 'Evita.' I wish I had been able to join them."

"I'm sure she's happy that you got to go tonight." Santana offered.

"Yeah, I know she is. I know it means a lot to her." Brittany said with a smile. "It means a lot to me too. I remember when we were twelve years old, sitting in the living room watching 'Evita' for probably the tenth time that year, and Rachel had all the songs memorized and she was singing along, and half way through 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina' she turned to me with a tear in her eye and said, '_Brittany, someday I'm going to play Eva on the stage. Just wait and see.'_ And she was right, she did it, and I'm just so happy to see her dream come true."

Santana returned the smile. She could tell how happy Brittany was to be there, and in turn, she was happy to be there too. "Well she's great. I hope you get this part you're auditioning for, and then she and I can see one of your dreams come true." She said with a warm smile.

"Me too." Brittany said with a slight blush and then she turned to look out the window again. "You know, if you didn't know it was after eleven o'clock at night, you'd think it was the middle of the day with all the lights and the amount of people down there."

Santana leaned over and looked down into Times Square. "It's crazy, isn't it?"

"They kinda look like ants." Brittany chuckled.

"Yeah. I love people watching. It's amazing what people will do when they don't think anyone's watching."

"Yeah me too. I think the best place for people watching is the park. Last time I was there, I saw a man propose to his girlfriend. It was so sweet."

"I mostly do my people watching in airports, there's always a wide range of emotions going on, so it's kinda cool to see."

Their waiter returned with their drinks, momentarily interrupting their conversation, but when they looked out the window again, Santana nudged Brittany's hand with her own and pointed.

"Hey, look at that couple sitting at the table just off to the left of the guy playing Elmo. Thousands of people walking around them and they're making out like horny teenagers."

Brittany gasped in amusement. "Man, they're really going at it. I hope they're hopelessly in love with each other and just forgot where they are."

"Yeah, maybe, or they don't have an aversion for public displays of affection and don't care." Santana replied flatly.

"Do you?" Brittany asked.

"Do I what?" Santana asked and looked at her.

"Do you have a problem with P.D.A.?"

Santana was not expecting that question, and her eyebrows scrunched up for a few seconds before she answered the seemingly random question.

"No. I don't think you'd see me making out with anyone like that in the middle of Times Square, because not only do I think moments like that should be kept private, that will also be the time that the paparazzi appear out of thin air, and next thing I know I'm on the front page of every trashy magazine with some made-up story about how I was having sex on the side walk or something ridiculous like that. But to answer your question, no, I don't think there's anything wrong with showing affection to someone in public, whether that be holding their hand or giving them a kiss. Sometimes things like that can't wait and I'll be damned if anyone says that I can't hold my girlfriend's hand in public."

"I agree with you." Brittany said with a nod. "Some things should be kept private, but others can be shared. That's just letting people know that you care about the other person enough to tell the world, and I think that's one of the sweetest things anyone can do."

Santana felt her heart flutter in her chest as she processed Brittany's words. She hoped for the day that she could walk down the street holding Brittany's hand without a care in the world of who saw them. Hell, if she was ever fortunate enough to have the privilege of calling Brittany her girlfriend she would shout if from the rooftops just so everyone would know how lucky she was.

"Hey look at those two men fighting with each other." Brittany said excitedly and pointed, taking Santana out of her thoughts.

The two women continued to converse and people watch as they waited for Rachel to arrive. Twenty minutes later, they were laughing so hard that they could barely breathe, and they failed to notice anyone approach the table.

"With all this laughing, I hope we aren't interrupting anything?" A female voice said and it made Brittany's head snap in the direction it came from.

"Rachel!" Brittany cheered and she bolted from her seat to hug the much shorter woman. "I've missed you!"

Rachel returned the tight embrace wholeheartedly with a little bounce. "I've missed you too!"

When they broke their hold, Brittany noticed that there was someone else with Rachel. "Jesse, it's great to see you again! It's been what, a year and a half?" She happily greeted him with a hug.

"About that long. It's good to see you too Brittany." He responded with a broad smile as he returned her embrace.

Santana watched the scene unfold in front of her and she couldn't help but smile. She could tell that they all were genuinely happy to see each other, but the reason for her smile was Brittany. She was already extremely cheerful before their reunion, but her happiness seemed to increase exponentially as soon as they arrived. It almost seemed like it was impossible for her to reach a peak for her happiness and it was spreading between everyone present to witness it.

"I'm so happy to see you guys!" Brittany chirped before she caught a glimpse of Santana standing behind her from the corner of her eye, and she realized that she was being rude by not introducing her new friend. "Oh and before I forget, let me introduce my friend." She said and gestured behind her to Santana.

Before Brittany had a chance to introduce them, Rachel let out a surprised gasp when she recognized who Brittany's friend was and Jesse's jaw dropped before he blurted, "Santana? Santana Lopez? Oh my god, it's been almost eight years since I last saw you! How are you?" He asked politely and gave her a quick hug.

"I'm good. Really good. How about you?" Santana asked, surprised by the embrace.

"I have no complaints; life has been pretty kind to me over the years."

"That's good to hear."

Santana could hardly believe it. She had hardly thought about Jesse St. James since he and her friend broke up, and she hadn't seen him since he graduated high school, and within one day, she not only realized that they had a mutual friend, and watched him perform in a musical, she found herself in his company again. The world certainly was small and it was getting smaller for her by the second.

"San, this is my sister, Rachel Berry." Brittany said; placing a caring hand on Santana's back. "Rachel this is my new friend, Santana Lopez."

Really, Brittany didn't need to say Santana's name, Rachel knew who Santana was, and she very excitedly extended her hand to greet her. "Santana, it's a surprise and a pleasure to meet you! I'm a very big fan of yours." She said with a wide smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, Rachel." Santana said politely, shaking her hand. "And I have to say, after watching the show tonight; I'm a fan of yours as well. You were amazing. You both were." She said, amending her statement to include Jesse.

"Thank you!" Rachel and Jesse said at the same time.

"Would you ladies like to have a drink?" Jesse offered and gestured towards the table.

"Sure." Brittany said and then they all took a seat. Santana sat next to Brittany, and Rachel sat next to Jesse, but across from Brittany. "Santana and I already had a drink while we were waiting, but I think I'm up for one more. What about you, San?"

Santana let a small smile slip at the nickname. "Sure, Britt. I'll have another one."

Santana spotted their waiter and motioned for him to come over. He quickly took their order and left them to retriever their drinks.

"So Santana," Rachel started the conversation, "I see that you and Jesse are already acquainted. How do you two know each other?"

"We went to high school together. He was two years ahead of me, but we spent some time together when he and one of my friends dated sophomore year."

"Oh, I was unaware that you two went to high school together." Rachel said with her eyebrows raised. "I knew you were from Akron, but I didn't know that you went to Carmel."

"Yep." Santana confirmed.

"Wait, you said that he dated your friend sophomore year?" Rachel blurted, she was working the math out in her head.

"Yeah?" Santana raised a curious eyebrow.

Rachel turned abruptly towards Jesse. "Was that before or after we dated?" She demanded.

"Before. Actually I broke up with her after I met you in the music store." He answered quickly, almost as if he thought it would keep him out of trouble. Rachel visibly calmed after his answer.

Santana's eye's bugged out. "So that's why you and Emily broke up?"

"Yeah, but we were close to breaking up at the time anyways." Jesse confirmed. "Didn't she tell you that?"

"No, she just told me that it wasn't working out and that she broke up with you."

He chuckled. "I guess it worked out for the best. I ran into her at the grocery store the last time I was home visiting my parents and she's married with a child. She seemed pretty happy."

"I haven't really talked to her since graduation. We lost touch with each other, but I did see on Facebook that she had a daughter a few years ago." Santana said.

The waiter returned with their drinks and then Jesse's turned his attention to Brittany. "Brittany, how do you and Santana know each other?" He asked, taking a sip of his martini.

"We met on the plane out here. She was so nice and held my hand when I got nervous during takeoff. She made me feel a lot better. We practically talked the whole flight, and now here we are."

"That's very commendable of you Santana." Rachel said with a smile. "I've flown with Brittany twice, and both times she cut off the circulation to my hand. I hope your hand is still in good working order?"

Santana laughed. "Yeah my hand's fine. I didn't mind though. I used to be the same way until I had to fly a lot for work and I seemed to grow out of my fear, so I think if we give her a few more times, she'll grow out of it too." She said and gave Brittany a reassuring and sweet smile.

"I hope so." Brittany said and returned the smile. "But at least I have you to hold my hand on the way home, so I know I'll be okay for that flight."

Rachel raised a curious eyebrow at them, not only for the look that they were giving each other, but also for the comment about Brittany's flight home. "How do you know if you're going to be on the same flight if you don't know if you got your callback or not?" She asked, seemingly stating the obvious.

"Oh, I haven't had the chance to tell you," Brittany chirped with excitement, "I'm going to stay here 'til Friday with Santana. We've decided to turn this trip into a working vacation. So I'll get to spend more time with you too!"

"Really?" Rachel asked with an excited clap of her hands.

"Yep! This is going to be so much fun!" Brittany practically squealed. "We'll definitely have to get together on your day off."

"Excellent! I usually have Sunday off, but this week we're off on Monday."

"Oh, if I get a callback, I'll have to go back and audition on Monday, but we can meet up afterwards." Brittany offered.

"Sounds like a plan. Santana, would you like to join us? You too Jesse." Rachel asked.

"Sorry ladies, I can't this week." Jesse said with a smirk. "I have a date with a Rockette on Monday night."

"Oh, you didn't tell me that?" Rachel questioned.

"I didn't know until this morning. I ran into her at the coffee shop around the corner. I spilled my coffee all over her shirt, so I offered to take her out to dinner on Monday to make up for it."

"And she said yes?" Rachel balked.

"Yep." Jesse said smugly.

"How'd you manage that?" Brittany asked, genuinely interested.

"I just flashed my award-winning smile and allured her with my natural charisma, and by the end of our encounter you would've thought dinner was her idea." Jesse said with a proud tone.

Rachel and Santana both rolled their eyes at his comment. It was typical Jesse St. James egotism.

"You're absolutely contemptible." Rachel hissed and took a sip of her drink.

Jessie just smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, so Jesse's out, are you joining us on Monday night, San?" Brittany asked with hopeful eyes.

"I'd really like too." Santana answered, and with the look that Brittany was giving her, she wanted to agree with anything she said, but she wasn't sure if she could. "My friends Kurt and Blaine are flying into New York on Monday, and I don't know what time they are getting in, but I'm sure they will want to meet up that night, so I don't know if I'll be able to go with you guys."

Brittany's face fell momentarily from disappointment before she had a brilliant idea and the bright smile was back on her face. "Bring them along. I'd love to meet your friends. If they're as nice as you are, then I'm sure we'll all become fast friends."

Santana felt heat rush to her face from Brittany's compliment. "Are you sure, I don't want to impose."

"Absolutely!" Rachel chirped. "The more the merrier and it'll give us all a chance to get to know each other better."

"Yeah, San, don't worry about it. I can't wait to meet them." Brittany added.

"Okay, I'll call Kurt tomorrow and see what time they're getting in and we can go from there."

"Yes!" Brittany cheered and gave what Santana could only classify as the _'cutest fist pump ever.'_

"Wonderful!" Rachel clapped her hands together. "So Santana, now that that's all settled, since you and Brittany are calling this trip a 'working vacation,' what kind of work are you here for?"

"I had an audition for a TV show this morning and then Kurt and I are going to do some real estate shopping this week for our clothing line so we can open a store and office in New York."

"What show is it for?" Rachel asked interested. She, along with Brittany and Jesse, seemed very interested in what this new show could be.

"Umm…I'm not sure I'm allowed to say. The details haven't been released yet, but I've just been cast as the lead. I think they're going to make an announcement next week." Santana said vaguely.

Had they been in a more private setting, Santana would have told them, but since they were in public, and she wasn't sure who could over hear her conversation, she thought it best to keep the answers to herself, because she knew the producers didn't want any information leaked before the announcement.

"Whether you can say or not, I'm proud of you." Brittany said with an angelic smile.

"Brittany's right, it doesn't matter if you can reveal any details tonight, you were still given a part, and I think we should celebrate it, so I say a toast is in order." Rachel praised and raised her glass.

Brittany and Jesse followed her lead. Santana never would have expected this level of enthusiasm or sincerity from practical strangers over her getting a part in a TV show, but she embraced it and raised her glass as well.

"To Santana Lopez. Congratulations and good luck! We hope you enjoy this part and it's everything you want it to be." Rachel said.

"To Santana!" The three toasters cheered and clinked their glasses with Santana's before all four of them took a drink.

After her toast, Santana thanked them and then excused herself to go to the bathroom. Brittany offered to go with her, but she declined and told her that she should continue to catch up with her friends.

When Santana returned she saw Jesse and Brittany laughing hysterically over something while Rachel sulked as she tended to a wet stain on her shirt. "What'd I miss?" She asked with an amused smile.

"Rach-" Brittany tried to answer, but she couldn't as she was still laughing and needed some time to calm down. When she was able to compose herself, she answered the question.

"While you were gone, I was telling Jesse and Rachel that we were people watching before they got here, so Rachel looked down into the square and she nearly choked on her drink, because just as she looked there was man running in the direction of our window, streaking through Times Square. She spilled the last of her drink all over her shirt."

Santana tried to suppress a giggle, but she failed in doing so. She guessed it was one of those things that you would have to see to understand how hilarious Rachel reaction was, but she had a pretty good imagination and once that vision was in her head there was no stopping her.

"Laugh all you want, but you three would've reacted the same way had you been the one to see it instead." Rachel huffed to the group as she continued to blot her top with a napkin.

"Rachel, you have to admit, had it happened to one of us, you'd be laughing just as hard." Jesse responded with a chuckle.

"Yeah, come on, this is one of those, this-would-be-funny-if-it-wasn't-happening-to-me kind of thing." Brittany offered, trying to brighten her mood.

It was obvious that Brittany still found the incident quite funny, but she was having a hard time making her words and her expressions match.

Santana wasn't sure since Rachel's hair was slightly blocking her face as she was leaning over tending to her wet blouse, but Santana thought she saw a small smile tug at the corner of Rachel's mouth.

"Aww, we're sorry Rach." Brittany said, still trying to suppress her smirk.

Rachel sighed in resignation and then set the napkin she was using on the table. "It's fine. I'm sure it was quite comical to the viewer. Thankfully, this shirt is red, so it won't be a permanent stain."

"See, there's an upside to this." Jesse quipped sarcastically, in an effort to joke with his roommate.

Rachel just eyed him and then she broke and gave a genuine smile. "I guess so." She said and then she noticed the time. "Oh my goodness, is that the time?" She gasped looking to see that it was almost one o'clock in the morning.

"Time certainly does fly while you're having fun." Jesse commented.

"I hate to cut our visit short, but we must be going." Rachel said looking around for their waiter. "We have to go in early again tomorrow, because the meeting that we were supposed to have today has been postponed until tomorrow, so I must be up earlier than normal to run some errands."

"Aww, well I'm still glad that we got to hang out tonight, and we're definitely going to see each other several times over the next week." Brittany said with a bright smile.

"That's true, now if only we could find our waiter to give us the bill..." Rachel huffed still looking around the room.

"Oh don't worry about the bill. Drinks are on the hotel tonight." Santana said.

"That's nice, but why?" Jesse asked and then Rachel stopped her search and gave the two other women her full attention.

"We had a little mix up when we checked in last night and the day manager was trying to make up for the rudeness of the night manager by giving us a bunch of vouchers." Brittany started to explain. "My reservation had been lost and the whole hotel was booked except for a couple of suites, so we asked them to upgrade me to one of the available rooms since it wasn't my fault the reservation was lost, but they wouldn't upgrade me for free, and I couldn't afford a suite, so Santana added me to her reservation because I would've had to leave the hotel in the middle of the night to find another place to say."

"That's awful!" Rachel snapped. "What kind of hotel manager does that when there's a room available and the mistake is on their end?"

"I don't know, but Santana talked with the day manager about it and he seemed to agree with her, and he honestly tried to make the situation better. He talked to the night manager about it and because we got an apology letter and a bottle of champagne from him when he came in tonight."

"That's a start to redeem himself." Rachel stated, clearly still upset with the situation. "Santana, that was very kind of you to let Brittany stay with you last night. If it's an inconvenience, she can stay with Jesse and me. I assure you that it wouldn't be the first time that Brittany and I have shared a bed."

"No, it's no trouble." Santana said waving her hand to emphasize her point. She was worried that Brittany might actually take Rachel up on her offer. "I have a suite with two double beds so there's more than enough room for the both of us. Plus it gives me a little company." She said, adding that last part to drive the point home that she wanted Brittany to stay with her.

"Yeah, as long as Santana is fine with me staying with her, I'm fine with it too. Plus, I don't want to crowd you two in your apartment. Our schedules are going to be different too, and I don't want to disrupt your routines." Brittany offered her opinion.

"Brittany, you wouldn't be a disruption, you're always welcomed in my home." Rachel said putting a reassuring hand on Brittany's. "But if you want to stay with Santana, I'm not going to push you. As long as I get to see you while you're here, I'm happy."

"Okay. Thanks." Brittany said with a warm smile. Santana for her part just smiled as well. She was relieved when she realized that Brittany would still be staying with her.

"Hey, if you guys want to head out, we'll take care of settling the bill." Santana offered.

"At least let me leave some money for the tip." Jesse offered reaching for his wallet.

"If you want to, but it's not necessary." Santana responded and Brittany nodded.

"Well, it is to me. A gentleman always makes sure that the lovely ladies that he's fortunate enough to keep company with are taken care of." He insisted, and took twenty-five dollars out of his wallet and set it on the table.

Santana wanted to roll her eyes at his comment, but she decided not to. Even though she didn't need a man, or anyone for that matter to take care of her, she still thought it was a nice gesture on his part.

"Thanks Jesse." Brittany said with a bright smile.

"Yes, thank you Jesse. That was very chivalrous or you." Rachel said with an appreciative smile and then stood up. "I guess this is where we part for now."

The other three members of the group stood up as well. Santana said her good-byes to Jesse as Brittany and Rachel did the same.

"It was so good seeing you tonight Rach, and I'll call you tomorrow to let you know what happens with my callback." Brittany said as she gave her sister a tight hug.

"Yes, please do. I have no doubt that you'll get called back, but I'll keep my fingers crossed anyways."

"Thanks." Brittany said with a sweet smile and then went to give Jesse a hug.

"Santana, it was very nice meeting you." Rachel said as she gave her an unexpected, but friendly hug.

Santana was not usually one for people she didn't know hugging her, but since Rachel was someone close to Brittany and maintaining any sort of relationship with her, whether it was friendly or more, meant that Rachel was going to be a new part of her life as well, so she returned the embrace.

"I'm looking forward to spending more time with you on Monday and meeting your friends." Rachel continued.

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you too, and thanks again for the tickets tonight. I enjoyed myself." Santana said and then broke their embrace.

"You're welcome. It was my pleasure." Rachel chirped and then addressed everyone. "Well, Jesse and I must be going. Performing daily requires a certain amount of rest to insure that one is in perfect condition to entertain the masses."

"Okay, see you guys later." Brittany said, standing next to Santana and waved as Rachel took Jesse's arm and left.

"That was fun." Santana said as she and Brittany sat back down waiting for the waiter to return with their check.

"Yeah, it was, but I'm sure Monday will be even better." Brittany chirped.

"I'm sure." Santana agreed. "So are you sure they're just roommates?" She asked. She hoped she wasn't over stepping any boundaries by asking, but she was curious and it got the better of her.

Brittany laughed. "Yeah, as far as I know, and Rachel would tell me if anything changed between them, but I know what you're talking about, they both have a tendency to have to know what's going on with the other all the time. I think if they don't have enough drama in their lives, they don't know how to function. They're both so much alike it's scary."

"A female version of Jesse? Is the world ready for that?" Santana smirked.

"I don't know, but I know if it's not then it better get ready because those two are going to take the world by storm."

"Oh I have no doubt." Santana said with a chuckle. "Unless you have anything else you'd like to do tonight, I say we find our waiter so we can give him the voucher and go back to our room." She suggested.

Brittany gave a shy smile with a nod and a faint blush formed on her cheeks. Santana wasn't sure why Brittany reacted that way to a seemingly innocent comment, but regardless of the reason, she thought she looked absolutely adorable and she doubted that she would ever tire of seeing Brittany's shy side.

-()-()-()-()-

Brittany and Santana returned to their room and once they were inside Brittany went straight to the couch and sat down, tucking her legs underneath her, and rested her arm on the back.

Santana followed and sat on the couch as well, but she left her feet on the floor and rested her head on the back of the couch. The loss of sleep from the night before and her long day was catching up with her, but it seemed like Brittany still had some energy, so she would push herself to stay up as long as Brittany wanted.

"So, tonight was fun, wasn't?" Brittany asked with a sweet smile.

Santana nodded and turned her head to look her. "Yeah, I really enjoyed myself. It was nice of Rachel to get us those tickets. They were probably some of the best seats in the house."

"Yeah, it's not surprising. Rachel likes to perform, but if she knows she's going to be entertaining a family member or someone she knows, she's going to make sure they get the best seats available. She did that with our parents. I think they had seats similar to ours for her opening night."

"I'm sure they enjoyed that." Santana said.

"They did. It was one of the happiest moments of their lives."

Santana smiled and after a short pause, she let curiosity get the better of her again and asked, "Hey, I was wondering, you and Rachel don't look anything alike, does one of you look like your mom and other look like your dad?"

Brittany's smile wavered slightly with that question. She shifted in her seat a little and brought her hand that was resting on the back on the couch into her lap with her other hand. "That's a complicated question, but the least complicated answer is that we both look like our mothers."

"Oh, so you have the same dad, and different moms, so she's your half-sister." Santana reasoned, but then another thought came to mind, "But wait, you have different last names?" She said scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion.

"That's where it gets complicated." Brittany said shifting a little more in her seat. "Rachel and I are sisters, but we aren't biologically related. We have two gay dads."

"Oh." Santana said raising her eyebrows. Being gay herself, one would think this wouldn't be a surprise to her, but in her defense, she was not expecting that answer. She guessed that would explain why Brittany seemed so accepting of her and never bat an eye when it came to talking about her sexuality. "So you two were born by using surrogate mothers or were you two adopted?"

"They used a surrogate with Rachel and she looks a lot like her biological mother. She has a relationship with her mother now, but they didn't meet until we were sixteen."

"And you?" Santana asked. She was very intrigued by Brittany's family dynamics.

"No, the two men that I call my dads didn't become my parents until I was fourteen."

"So you were adopted?" Santana said with a frown. The thought of Brittany being an orphan and living in a children's home floated into her mind and she didn't like that idea at all.

Brittany sighed and broke eye contact. This sudden change in her demeanor was a cause of concern for Santana. Had she had any idea that this subject was going to upset Brittany, she never would've brought it up. _"Me and my fucking curiosity!"_ She berated herself in her head and sat up, moving a little closer to Brittany. She placed one of her hands on Brittany's hoping it would ease whatever was bothering her.

"Hey, are you okay? If this is too much to talk about, we don't have to talk about it." Santana said in a soothing tone.

"No," Brittany sighed heavily and turned towards Santana, but kept her hand in place so she could hold it. She found it quite comforting to hold Santana's hand and she felt like if she could draw strength from her, then the tears that she could feel forming would stay put. "No it's okay. I don't mind talking about it with you. It's just that I haven't talked about this in a while, and it brought back a lot of unsettling emotions all at once."

"I'm sorry I upset you." Santana said with a pout and lightly squeezed her hand. It almost looked like she was as upset as Brittany was.

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault." Brittany said and squeezed her hand back for emphasis. "Do you remember on the plane that I first referred to Rachel as my friend and then later I said that she was more like my sister?"

Santana nodded.

"That's because she is my friend, my best friend, as well as my sister. We met in kindergarten and when everyone made fun of the way she spoke, I was the only one that defended her, because I liked the way she spoke; it always sounded so smart to me, so after that, we became friends and it wasn't too long before we were inseparable."

"You know now that you mention it, she does have a certain way of speaking." Santana added.

Brittany giggled. "Yeah, I think one of our dads had a recording of the dictionary and he used to play it in her crib at night along with music, so I think she just absorbed it all at a very young age."

Santana chuckled, "Really?"

"I don't know," Brittany said still chuckling, "but it sounds good doesn't?"

Santana gave an amused nod, "I guess so."

"Anyways, we started having sleepovers and play dates, and as I got older and I started to understand things better, I realized that my parents weren't very nice when they talked about Rachel's parents or Rachel when she wasn't around. But that didn't surprise me much, because they weren't exactly the most attentive parents either, so I just assumed that they couldn't see what I saw in the Berry family."

"What'd you see?"

"A loving family that would do anything for each other. I thought Rachel's dads were like the perfect parents. They were gentle with her and loved her unconditionally, supporting her in every ambition she ever had. She never had any trouble in school because if she didn't understand something, one of her parents were always there to help her, and yeah they spoiled her, which apparently some people thought was a bad thing, but I just though it meant that her parents loved her so much they'd move heaven and earth to give her not only what she needed but what she wanted as well."

"So what did your parents not like about them, they seem like nice guys and Rachel seems nice enough?" Santana had an idea of what they didn't like, but she decided to ask before she jumped to a conclusion.

"They're Jewish, so for a while when I was younger I thought they were calling them 'kites' but I later found out that that wasn't what they were calling them."

Santana's face fell when she realized what Brittany was trying to imply. "That's terrible!" She breathed out in disbelief.

"Yeah I know; it made me sad that they would call my best friend and her parents that, but they didn't stop there, they also called her dads 'f-" She sounded out the first letter and then paused. "I don't like to say it, but you know what I mean right?"

Santana swallowed hard. "Yeah, I get it." She said in a whisper. She hated that Brittany had been subjected to so much hate from such a young age. "So if they disliked them so much, why did they let you and Rachel play together and spend the night at each other's houses?" She asked because she was stumped.

"With most people who have hate in their hearts, they hide it from society but let it spew when they're behind closed doors. They tried to make it seem like we were the picture perfect family on the outside, so when Rachel's dads first approached my parents about a sleepover at parent/teacher night, they agreed because they had an audience. They only good thing about this was that they never said anything to Rachel when she was visiting. I guess they didn't want her to run home and tell her parents. That would have ruined their reputation because Lima is a small town and news spreads fast."

"Okay, that makes sense. So how did you end up living with Rachel?"

"Um…my parents were pretty good at hiding their hate in public, but when their own child became something they hated, they couldn't tolerate it, and they threw me out."

"Why?" Santana asked in a whisper and held Brittany's hand a little tighter. She wasn't sure if it was to comfort Brittany or herself, maybe it was both, because she was getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach from listening to this story, and now she wasn't sure if she had enough strength to listen to how Brittany was mistreated as a child.

"They came home early from a meeting one night and saw me and my friend Lacey making out on the couch and they flipped out. At first they blamed Rachel's parents for putting 'disgusting ideas' in my head, but when I told them that her parents had nothing to do with it and that I had a genuine attraction to girls, as well as boys, they lost their minds. The thought of them having a bisexual daughter was unacceptable and they told me I had to leave. I don't think I was ever so scared of anything in my life as I was that night. Both my parents were hot tempered when something upset them and it would scare me when they'd start yelling. I think that's why I don't like confrontation because I was always trying to avoid it with them, however I always managed to upset them over something, but that night was the worst. My mom slapped me a few times when I tried to reason with her and my dad hit me hard in the face with a shoe and gave me a black eye, but I think that was an accident because he was throwing my stuff out of my closet and he wasn't paying attention to where he was throwing it." Brittany finished and then wiped away a tear that had escaped and rolled down her cheek.

"Oh Brittany." Santana cried; she was tearing up as well. They were tears of sadness and anger. She couldn't believe that anyone would treat the sweet girl in front of her with such hostility, let alone her own parents. It was absolutely heartbreaking. She took Brittany's other hand and held both of her hands between her own. When she spoke, her voice cracked. "I am so sorry that you had to go through that. For anyone to go through that is bad, but to go through it as such a young age is just terrible. I know me telling you 'sorry' ten years later isn't going to change anything or help how you feel about the situation, but I don't know what else to say, other than I'm sorry."

"San, its fine-" Brittany started, but was cut off by a very emotional Santana.

"Fine! Britt it's _NOT_ fine what they did to you. You were a kid going through something that is hard and scary to accept about yourself, hell even I was scared shitless about accepting my sexuality, to the point it was almost destructive, but instead of being supportive and helpful like my parents were, your parents not only disregarded your feelings, they threw out their own daughter! It's not fine; it's awful and downright despicable!"

Brittany for her part, agreed with Santana, she believed every word that she said, and she was touched that she felt so strongly about it, but she felt she needed to finish her thought so Santana could see it the way she did.

"You're right, what happened was bad and it hurt, it still hurts because even though my life now is great, I still have to live with the knowledge that my birth parents couldn't accept me for who I am and they don't want anything to do with me. I have a fifteen-year-old sister that I haven't seen in ten years, because after I moved in with Rachel, my parents moved. I have no idea where they went, but I'm sure if my sister even remembers me at all, my parents have probably made her hate me. But what makes this fine, is that I now have a family that loves me for who I am, and genuinely cares for me. The men that I call my dads and the girl that I call my sister, legally aren't my family because my birth parents never gave up their parental rights, they only gave over guardianship of me, but the Berry's embraced me as one of their own, and if you ask them, they'll tell you that they don't need a piece of paper to tell them who their daughter is. To them, family is defined by love, not biology. I'm their daughter and they're my parents, Rachel is my sister, and nothing is ever going to change that. I even got another mother and sister out of it too, because when Rachel and her mom started building a relationship, they'd always ask me to go with them and she treated me like her own daughter as well, so when she adopted a baby she became my little sister too. So you see, even thought I had to go through all that horrible stuff, I'm glad I did because it all turned out for the best."

Santana sat there letting Brittany's words sink in and she had to agree with her. She still felt anger and sadness over what Brittany went through, but now she realized that she was happy too. "You know, when you put it like that, I guess I can see where you'd be fine with it. I'm still sorry that you had to go through that, but I'm glad that you got a family that loves and accepts you out of it. I guess sometimes we have to go through the bad things in life so that it can push us into something good."

Brittany nodded. "I think everyone goes through that at some point in their life. I'm just lucky I learned that lesson early."

"Yeah, I learned it early too, but I think I would've liked to have learned it in another way." Santana said without thinking.

"Oh, yeah?" Brittany asked. She was curious, but she also felt guilty for asking because she wasn't sure if she wanted to put Santana through reliving her most difficult moment. It was no walk in the park for her, so there was no way it was going to be easy for Santana.

Santana actually contemplated changing the subject so she wouldn't have to talk about it and she was a little upset at herself for mentioning it, because she hated talking about her feelings, but there was just something about Brittany that made her feel safe in talking about them and she figured if Brittany could open herself up and share something as difficult as what she went through, then it was only fair for her to open up as well.

Brittany took Santana's pause as sign that she didn't want to talk about it with her and she started backpedaling. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Things like this are hard, and I understand if you don't want to talk about it."

Santana shook her head and then gave Brittany's hand a reassuring squeeze. "No, its fine, I don't mind sharing with you; I was just gathering my thoughts." She answered and then let out a long breath. "I guess I should give a little backstory first. Remember when I said I was scared of accepting my sexuality?"

Brittany nodded.

"That's a little bit of an understatement. I wasn't just scared that I found girls attractive, I was absolutely terrified, and I didn't want to accept it. I wanted to be a _'normal'_ girl that had crushes and went on dates with boys, so I just waged an all-out war with myself trying to deny what had always been inside of me. The first two and half years of high school I forced myself to go on dates with guys that I really had no interest in, and I slept my way through most of the football team, thinking that if I slept with enough guys it'd change me, but it didn't, it just made it worse. I was angry all the time and I probably cried myself to sleep every night because I was so miserable. Finally, it got so bad, that during Christmas break my junior year I broke down crying in front of my Mom. We were making Christmas cookies, like we did every year, and she told me that she won my dad over with that recipe and that she wouldn't be surprised if one day the man I married loved them too. That was when I broke down. I just couldn't hold back the tears."

"Was she worried?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah, she was. She asked me what was wrong and I could see the panic in her face, but I couldn't say anything because I was crying so hard. She just held me and let me cry it out, and then when I finally calmed down she wiped my face and asked me what was wrong. I actually was tempted to lie, but I couldn't, I was just so tired of fighting with myself so I gave in and told her."

"How'd she take it?"

Santana hesitated to respond at first because she felt like she might be rubbing the answer in Brittany's face about how well her parents took the news, but then she remembered that things got better for Brittany after her birth parents rejected her, so she went ahead and answered.

"A lot better than I thought she would. My mom and I had always been close, and I thought she was going to be mad or disappointed in me; that's probably one reason why I kept it a secret for so long, but she wasn't. She was glad that I was honest with her and she said, _"Mija, I'm not going to lie and say that it doesn't concern me, because there are people in this world who are cruel, and I don't want to see you exposed to that kind of hate, but I love you for who you are and I just want you to be happy."_

"That's nice." Brittany said with a genuine smile. "So I assume your Dad took it just as well?"

Santana started laughing. "Yeah, my mom and I talked to him after he came home from work that night, and he pretty much said the same things as my mom. Then they joked and said they should've seen it coming when I wanted go trick-or-treating as Uncle Jesse from 'Full House' when I was eight."

"_Eww!"_ Brittany said with a laugh. "Your parents sound great. I hope I get to meet them one day."

The laugh and smile that was on Santana's lips faded. "I'm sure they would have loved you, but they were killed in a boating accident during my senior year by a group of drunk college kids."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" Brittany apologized and she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"It's okay, but I guess this is the part of the story where the bad pushed me into the good. About a week before my parents died, my first girlfriend broke up with me. I was pretty upset about that, but when I got the news that I had lost my parents, I was a wreck. I felt like my whole world was crashing down on me. I went to live with my best friend Quinn after that, because my Abuela reacted pretty much the same way as your parents did when she found out that I was gay. She didn't even acknowledge me at the funeral."

"That's horrible!" Brittany interjected.

"Yeah, but it helped solidify the idea that with my parents gone there was nothing keeping me in Ohio, and I was determined to get out of there the second I had the chance. So, I convinced Quinn to apply to UCLA, and after graduation, we left for L.A., and then after some time, I got my 'big break.' I love what I do, and I love how my life has turned out for the most part, and my parents dying pushed me to leave Ohio and pursue my dreams, but if I could, I would give it all up if it meant they could still be alive."

Santana had to let go of Brittany's hands to wipe her face, as she had tears rolling down both cheeks. "Sorry." She apologized. She hated crying in front of other people.

"What? Santana, don't be silly." Brittany said in a comforting tone. She had tears gathering in her own eyes, and she pulled Santana into a tight hug. "It's okay to cry over this. You don't have to be strong all the time."

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's back and just let her hold her for a few minutes. They both found it comforting and calming being so close to each other. When they finally broke the embrace, Santana couldn't help but give a stifled tearful laugh. "How did we go from having a fun and laugh-filled night, to sad stories and tears?"

"I don't know." Brittany breathed out a small chuckle. "But, I guess if I was going to do it with anyone, I'm glad it was you. You just make me feel better about everything."

Santana felt a rush of heat to her cheeks and she couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, I think I feel the same way about you." She said in a small voice.

Brittany leaned in again and gave Santana another hug before she took her hand in hers and she stood up. "Come on, it's late. Let's get ready for bed."

Santana gave a shy smile; she stood and let Brittany lead her into the bedroom.

Twenty minutes later they had changed into their pajamas, and they were both in front of the sink removing their make-up in silence, exchanging shy smiles and glances with each other in the mirror.

When they were finished with their nighttime routines, Santana flipped the light off in the bathroom and they walked back into the bedroom to get into bed, but as Santana was flipping back her covers, she noticed that Brittany seemed to be hesitant about getting into bed.

"Are you okay?"

"Um..." Brittany breathed and then turned away.

Santana moved beside her and put a hand on Brittany's arm to turn her towards her again. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's silly." Brittany said blushing.

"No it's not. Just tell me."

Brittany sighed. "After I moved in with Rachel, I slept with her in her bed for a couple of months because I hated being alone and every time I thought about what happened with my parents I would get really upset and sleeping with Rachel helped me feel better. I know I told you that I'm really happy with how things turned out, and I am, but talking about it tonight brought back all of those old feelings and I just had a flashback to getting into bed that first night and it startled me a bit."

"Oh." Santana whispered. She could understand that. She slept with Quinn for a while after her parent's accident. She gave Brittany a warm smile and then pulled her into a hug. "That's not silly at all."

She could feel Brittany lean further into her and she held her for a few moments before she pulled back a bit, but not far enough that they lost contact with each other. "I'll tell you what, since we both just relived our darkest days, why don't we share a bed tonight. I think it would help both of us to have someone close."

For a few seconds Santana thought that Brittany was going to protest because she didn't answer, but then she nodded and gave what sounded like a sigh of relief. "Okay, thanks." She said so quietly that Santana wasn't quite sure if Brittany had said it, or she imagined it.

"Okay." Santana said with another warm smile. "What side do you want?" She said pointing to her bed.

"Um, I usually sleep on the right side." Brittany muttered.

"That's great, because I usually sleep on the left." Santana chuckled and then motioned for Brittany to get into the bed. Once they were both in, she rolled over and turned the lamp off.

Brittany tossed and turned for a while trying to get comfortable, but what she was really having trouble with was getting her mind to shut down and to stop thinking. A few minutes later she rolled onto her right side and moment or two later she felt Santana put her arm around her waist and pull her into her.

Santana knew Brittany was restless because she was upset, so she was hoping that she could calm her by holding her. Once she felt Brittany calm down and settle back into her, Santana settled into the embrace as well. Within minutes, they were both sound asleep.

-()-()-()-()-

A/N: So, thoughts on this chapter? If so, I'd love to hear them. I love getting feedback. Also, I was asked about the time line of the story, so in case you missed it, this story starts in May 2018, six years after high school. Brittany and Santana are 23, going on 24.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

When Santana's eyes fluttered opened on Saturday morning, taking her from one of the most restful sleeps that she had had in a long time, she immediately noticed that things were different than they were when she fell asleep the night before. A good kind of different. She remembered lying there feeling Brittany restlessly move around the bed, and putting an arm around her to help her relax, and now she was lying on her back holding Brittany, who's head was resting on her chest, her arm draped around her hip and legs intertwined with her own.

Santana slowly turned her head and looked at the clock that was sitting on the nightstand. It was a little before ten. She couldn't remember a time when she had slept for seven solid hours without something waking her up. She figured there were two reasons for that. The first was that Max was across the country and wasn't there to wake her for his morning cuddles and bathroom break, and the second and most appealing reason, was that she had spent the night with a beautiful and charming woman in her arms.

Santana was in pure heaven with her present situation. The feel of Brittany's weight on her body, her scent, and the sensation of her breath on her chest was so intoxicating it was making Santana's head spin. For the first time since their depressing trip down memory lane, Santana actually allowed herself to think about the newfound information regarding Brittany's sexuality. Brittany, the sweet, generous, fun-to-be-around, beautiful woman who was currently sleeping in her arms was not only single, but bisexual as well, and if Santana was lucky, she thought she might have a chance with her.

Santana actually thought about pinching herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming, but she decided against that because it would mean moving and possibly waking Brittany, or if it was a dream, she didn't want to wake up because the prospects of the dream were so good she wasn't sure if she wanted to give it up. So, Santana just laid there, letting her mind wonder as she enjoyed the closeness of having Brittany in her arms.

Unfortunately, her daydreaming was cut short a few minutes later when Brittany started to stir. Santana looked down to see Brittany's eyes as she opened them. It took her a few seconds to process the scene around her and for a moment Santana thought Brittany might freak out at how close they were and the intimate way they were positioned, but those fears dissipated when Brittany gave her a sleepy smile and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning." Santana replied with her own smile. "Did you sleep okay?"

Brittany yawned and moved so she was no longer laying on Santana, propping herself up with her elbow. "Yeah, I slept really, really well. You?"

Santana missed the contact immediately, but Brittany had only moved a few inches away. She sat up, supporting her back with her pillow. She was now eye level with Brittany. "I think I had one of the best sleeps that I've ever had."

"Good." Brittany smiled.

There was a calm silence that fell between them as they gazed at each other, and all Santana could think about was how cute Brittany looked when she first woke up. Then almost as if she could hear what Santana was thinking, Brittany blushed.

"Hey, um, I wanted to thank you for what you did last night." Brittany said quietly and put a hand on Santana's arm. "I appreciate you trying to make me feel better. It really helped."

"Oh, you don't need to thank me; it helped me too, so…" Santana drifted off shyly because she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to say.

"I'm glad it helped you too. I…I'm just-" Brittany started to say and then shook her head as if she was trying to stop herself from saying what she was going to say.

"Just what?" Santana gently urged.

Brittany was quiet for a while and played with the bed sheet between them. She knew what she wanted to say, but she stopped herself because she didn't want it to seem like too much too soon. The encouraging look on Santana's face though was breaking her resolve so she just said it.

"I'm just so happy that I met you. I've never met anyone outside of my family that makes me feel so comfortable. When I'm with you, things seem so much better and I can't help but feel so happy that you're in my life now and I just want to be around you all the time."

Santana felt her heart jump in her chest and heat rush to her cheeks. She wasn't sure if her blush was as visible as Brittany's, but she didn't care and she took the hand that Brittany was playing with the sheet into hers. Before she knew it, words and emotion started pouring out of her.

"Britt, I don't think I've ever connected with someone as quickly as I did with you. I'm not a person that opens up or trusts easily, but for some reason, with you it's different. I've known you two days and already I'm happier with my life when you're around and I want to be around you all the time too, but it scares me a little bit-"

"Why is that scary for you?" Brittany interrupted with her eyebrows scrunched together. She was confused as to why wanting to be around each other would be scary.

"Because I'm afraid that I'm going to screw something up and you won't want to be around me anymore. I don't have a good track record when it comes to making long-lasting relationships. I have a few close friends that I've thankfully managed to keep, a long list of superficial acquaintances, and an even longer list of failed romantic relationships, and I'm just afraid that someday you're going to see that I'm not a nice person and then-"

"Santana, you are nice!" Brittany interrupted again and squeezed her hand to emphasize her point.

"But I'm not." Santana said flatly. She knew she wasn't.

"How many nice things do you have to do for someone before you'll believe them when they say you're a nice person?" Brittany asked perplexed. At first she thought Santana's comments about her not being nice was just a game, but now she was beginning to think it was something much more serious.

Santana didn't know how to answer, so she didn't and nervously broke eye contact with Brittany.

"Hey, don't do that." Brittany pleaded and turned Santana's face back towards her by cupping her fingers around her chin. "Why do you keep telling me you're not a nice person when it's obvious that you are?"

"Because I know myself and the things I've done, and 'nice' isn't a word that I would use to describe myself." Santana said looking down.

Brittany shook her head in disbelief and moved closer so the distance between them was cut in half. She put her hand on Santana's check and looked right into her brown eyes. "Santana, I know that's not true." She said softly and started to rub her thumb across Santana's cheek.

Santana was quiet and just watched Brittany's eyes search here face. She didn't know what to say again, but she was saved from answering because Brittany surprised her by leaning into her further and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

The chaste kiss lingered between them and Santana thought she might pass out from a combination of excitement and surprise from the spontaneous kiss.

When Brittany pulled away, she kept her hand on Santana's cheek and then rested her forehead on Santana's. "I see you for you. I know you're a sweet person at heart and I don't like it when you put yourself down like this." She whispered. "Please believe me."

Santana felt her breath hitch in her chest, and she thought about disagreeing again, but with the pleading look that Brittany was giving her, she wasn't sure if she could. She wanted to believe her so she gave a slight nod. "Okay." She breathed out, because that was all she trusted herself to say without it coming out shaky or broken.

"Okay." Brittany whispered and then she laid down on her back, pulling Santana with her so she was resting on her side with her head on Brittany's shoulder. Brittany put her hand around Santana's back and just held her there.

They laid cuddled next to each other for a while in silence. They were both lost in their own thoughts that neither one of them remembered to continue the conversation. Santana's thoughts were all over the place, but mostly varied between, _"Holy shit she just kissed me, so what does this mean now?"_ and _"I could seriously just lay here with her all day."_

Brittany's thoughts were a little more focused. She couldn't believe that she just kissed Santana, but it felt right and even thought it wasn't the most passionate first kiss that she had ever shared with someone, it was probably one of the most meaningful. She had enjoyed it and she really wanted to do it again sometime. She peeked down to look at Santana and saw that she seemed to be deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, as if she didn't know.

Santana just laughed and then looked up at her. "You, obviously."

"Me too." Brittany chuckled. "I guess things just changed, didn't they?"

Santana nodded and then sat up so she could get a better look at Brittany.

"Yeah, thought so." Brittany said, sitting up as well, and turned toward Santana. "Um, San…I-" She paused because she was a little insecure about what she was about to say, but then she figured she might as well say it, because she had already kissed Santana. "I like you, like a lot, and more than on a friendly level, so I guess what I'm trying to ask is if you feel the same way, but if you don't, that's fine too, we can just be friends."

"No!" Santana blurted and it startled Brittany. "Um, what I mean is yes, I do feel the same way. I really like you too, and I don't want to rush us into anything, but I'd like to be more than just friends."

Brittany couldn't help but give a bright smile. "Yeah?"

Santana returned a smile just a bright. "Yeah."

Brittany blushed. "Great. So, um…so we're like dating now?" She asked; a little embarrassed. She almost felt like a teenager again asking that question, but she got confused easily so she thought it'd be better to ask than to assume.

It was Santana's turn to blush this time and she stumbled though her answer, "Umm, I guess-yeah- if that's what you want." Usually she was a lot smoother when it came to this stuff, but for some reason, Brittany turned her into a stuttering mess.

Brittany gave a shy nod. "I don't want to rush us into anything either, so we can just date for a little while to see where it goes, and if it works out, we can move on to being girlfriends. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah." Santana said with a shy smile. "I like that idea."

"Great." Brittany mirrored the smile Santana was giving her.

A few moments later Santana shook her head to break herself out of the trance that Brittany's eyes had her in. She took Brittany's hand into her own. "It's getting late, so if it's okay with you, I say we get ready and then you let me take you out to lunch."

Brittany grinned. "Since you asked so nicely, yes, you may take me out to lunch."

-()-()-()-()-

"Where are we going?" Brittany asked as they walked out of the hotel.

"Just to this little French café around the corner." Santana answered, taking Brittany's hand into her own as she led her towards their destination.

Brittany smiled and then laced their fingers together.

"Are we dressed okay?" Brittany asked. For some reason she pictured a French café as somewhere they needed to dress up. That's not to say that they weren't dressed nicely, they were, but it was casual so she hand a moment of worry and then she felt silly because she was sure Santana would have said something before they left their room.

"Yeah, it's in Times Square, there's going to be a ton of tourist going in and out of there so we're fine. Now if we went there for dinner, I would dress a little nicer, but this is fine for lunch." Santana assured her.

"Okay." Brittany said, satisfied that she wasn't going to embarrass herself.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Santana pulled the door and held it open, but just as Brittany was walking in, her phone rang.

"Do you mind if I take this." She asked sheepishly. "It might be the casting office."

"Of course." Santana said with a wave of her hand. "I'll just give you a moment alone and get us a table."

"Okay, thanks." Brittany said and watched Santana go in the restaurant.

"Hello?" She said answering her phone.

"_May I speak with Brittany Pierce?"_ A female voice asked.

"This is she." Brittany answered and she felt her heart start to beat faster in anticipation.

"_Miss Pierce, good afternoon, my name is Lisa Bess and I'm calling for Mr. Morgan. He wanted me to let you know that if you're still available, he'd like for you to come back on Monday morning at nine o'clock for a second audition."_

"Yes, I'm available!" Brittany semi-cheered into the phone. She was excited, but she wanted to be professional so she kept her enthusiasm to a minimum.

"_Great, I'll just mark you down as accepting. This audition is going to be similar to yesterday's. You'll be given several different lines to read, and they'll give you another dance routine to perform. You'll more than likely be there until three or four in the afternoon, because they'll let you know their decision before you leave."_

"Okay, thank you." Brittany said.

"_You're welcome, Miss Pierce. We'll see you at nine o'clock on Monday."_

"Alright. Thanks again." Brittany said and then disconnected the call.

She could feel how fast her heart was beating from excitement and had she not been in such a public place, she might've even done a little victory dance.

She thought about calling her parents and Rachel because she knew they were waiting on her to call, but she didn't want to be rude and leave Santana in the restaurant by herself for too long, because if she called them now, it could potentially take a while, so she decided to call them after lunch.

Brittany put her cell phone away, and then ran her hand down her shirt to straighten it out before she walked in the restaurant. When she got inside, she looked around the room to find Santana. When she found her, she was talking to a dark-haired woman and a blonde-haired little girl sitting with their backs to her.

When Brittany approached the table, Santana broke eye contact with the woman that she was talking to and smiled at Brittany. "Hey, there you are!"

"Sorry I kept you waiting." Brittany apologized, but before she sat next to Santana, she took in the other two occupants at the table and she jumped in surprise. "Shelby?"

"Brittany?" Shelby said with just as much surprise. She stood up and gave Brittany a tight embrace. "Honey, what are you doing in New York?"

"I had an audition for a show. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it, but I didn't really tell anyone, just in case I don't get the part. I was going to call you later today. What're you doing here?" Brittany asked and they pulled apart, returning to their seats

"Beth loves crepes so we had lunch here. We were just on our way out when I saw Santana."

"How do you know each other?" Brittany asked looking at Santana.

"Shelby's the producer of my new show. How do you two know each other?" Santana asked and quirked a curious eyebrow. This was the last thing she expected.

"Shelby is Rachel's mom."

"You're kidding?" Santana said with her eyebrows raised in surprise and looked between them.

Shelby laughed. "No, she's not kidding. Rachel's my daughter."

Santana looked her over again and then chuckled. "You weren't kidding when you said Rachel looked like her mom."

"Yeah, Rachel is like her mini-me." Brittany chuckled and then she remembered that she hadn't acknowledged the other person at the table. "Hi Beth." She said with a warm smile.

The little girl gave a bashful smile and got up to hug her. "Hey Britt-Britt. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, sweetie. It's been a while since we've hung out." Brittany returned the eager hug.

"Uh-uh." The girl muttered and then looked up at Brittany while she held her. "Are you going to come over today to play with me? Rachel isn't as much fun as you when it comes to playing with my Barbies; all she wants to do is make them sing."

Everyone at the table chuckled.

"Baby, Brittany's probably busy." Shelby said gently, because she didn't want to upset her if Brittany wasn't able to visit.

"But I haven't seen her in a really long time, and she's my sister and I wanna play with her." Beth pouted and buried her face into Brittany's chest.

Brittany's heart broke at that and she held Beth tighter. She looked at the apologetic expression that Shelby was giving her. Then she looked at Santana, and it was as if they were having a silent conversation because a couple of seconds later Santana gave her a smile and nod.

"Hey, don't pout, Beth. I'll tell you what, I'll come by after Santana and I have lunch and we can play for a little while."

Beth looked back toward Shelby, "Is it okay, Mom? Pleeease!"

Shelby sighed, she hated when her daughter looked sad. "You guys don't mind?" She asked looking over at Brittany and Santana, because she didn't know the nature of their relationship, but she guessed that Beth had just interrupted something.

"No, it's fine. I have some emails from Kurt to go over later, so while Britt is gettin' her Barbie on, I can get a little work done." Santana said.

"Yeah, it's fine." Brittany assured Shelby and then gave Santana a smile, silently thanking her.

"Then I guess it's okay with me." Shelby said to her daughter who then jumped out of her sister's arms and into her mother's.

"Thanks Mom!" Beth cheered.

"You're welcome, Baby." Shelby said and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Well, we better go so you ladies can eat. Britt, I'll text you my address; in case you need it. It's just a quick cab ride from here."

"Okay, cool. See you soon, sweetie." Brittany said and smiled at Beth.

"Okay Britt-Britt!" She said and hugged her sister again.

"You ladies enjoy your lunch." Shelby said and stood up, taking Beth's hand into hers.

"We will." Brittany said.

"It was nice meeting you Beth." Santana said with a smile.

Beth blushed, but she nodded and said the same.

"Alright, we're outta here." Shelby said and Beth waved at them.

"See ya." Santana and Brittany said at the same time as they waved at their departing guests.

"Okay, that was just insane." Santana said turning towards Brittany. "How random is it that your mom is my new boss?"

"Yeah, that is crazy." Brittany said and just shook her head in bewilderment. "Hey, thanks so much for being so understanding about Beth. I know we were supposed to spend the day together, but the last time I saw her was almost a year and half ago when they were in Lima for Chanukah. I've talked to her on the phone a lot, and we Skype, but it sucks not seeing her in person more often."

"Britt, its fine." Santana said taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "Trust me; I know how important family is, so go have some fun."

"Okay. You can come with me if you want to. Shelby won't mind." Brittany offered because she felt bad leaving Santana, but she really did want to spend some time with Beth and Shelby.

"Thanks for the invite, but I think you better go alone this time. Beth seems a little shy and I don't want to interrupt your time together since you haven't seen her in a while. Maybe next time."

"Okay." Brittany said with a grateful smile.

"Sooo…" Santana said with a drawl and then smirked. "Can I call you Britt-Britt?"

-(Six Hours Later)-

"They all look good. I guess we'll just have to go see them when you get here and narrow them down that way." Santana said to Kurt on her cell. They were going over potential properties for their fashion line.

"_I think I'm partial to the ones in SoHo. I really liked the one on Broadway, between Spring and Prince Streets."_

"Hold on let me look at that one again." Santana said as she went through her email to look at the property again. "Yeah, I like that one. It's in a pretty good location and the lease isn't as outrageous as the ones in Midtown."

"_That's true." _Kurt chuckled.

"We'll go have a look at that one first if you want."

"_Sounds good."_

"What time are you and Blaine getting in on Monday?"

"_Four Thirty-Five. We'll probably get to the hotel around six, maybe a little after, depending on traffic."_

"Okay. Do you two have any plans for Monday night?"

"_No, not really. I assume we'll go out to dinner, but after that, I don't know. Why?"_

"I met this girl-"

"_Why Santana Lopez," _Kurt cut her off with an amused tone._ "You met a girl, why am I not surprised. And where did this happen?"_

"If you'd let me talk, I'd tell you!" Santana chided playfully. "I met her on the plane-"

"_In your coach seat that you were sooo upset to be in?"_ Kurt said, but to Santana, all she heard was the implied 'I told you so.'

"Yes, okay." Santana answered with a huff. It was the closest Kurt was going to get to, 'You were right.'

"_Mm-hmm. So tell me about this girl. Is she cute?"_

"She's absolutely gorgeous, but really she's so much more than that, she's kind and generous and so fun to be around. I really, really like her."

Kurt was silent for a moment, _"Santana in all the years I've known you, I don't think I've ever heard you say that about anyone."_ He was surprised that she had said anything all, because usually she played her cards close to her chest.

"Kurt, she's unlike anyone that I've ever met before."

"_So, when do I get to meet this girl, and does she have a name?"_

"Her name is Brittany, and if you want, you and Blaine are welcome to come out with us and her sister on Monday."

"_Her sister? You've met the family already?"_

Santana laughed. "You don't even know the half of it."

"_Well tell me! Details! I need details woman!"_

Santana chuckled and started to tell him the story of how they met on the plane and the mix up at the hotel.

"_So wait, you just met her and you two are sharing a room? Do you think that's safe? She could be some crazy person for all you know."_ Kurt interrupted.

"I know what you're thinking, but despite one or two lapses in my character judgment in the past, I can tell Brittany's different. I know once you meet her, you're going like her."

"_That remains to be seen, but I'll keep an open mind about her. Just be careful, okay?_"

"I will, but I know I'm right about her." Santana assured her friend.

"_Mm-hmm, okay, continue with the story, you've been there two days, so I know there's more to it."_

Santana continued, but didn't get too far before she was interrupted again.

"_Hold on, you mean to tell me that her sister is Rachel Berry?"_

"Umm, yeah." Santana answered confused as to how he knew who she was. As far as she knew, 'Evita' was Rachel's first big show, so she was unsure as to how Kurt would know her, especially since she knew he hadn't been to New York in the past year. "How the hell do you know her?"

"_I don't, but I'm very active on the Broadway blogs-"_

"Okay, hold up, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Santana interrupted with a mocking laugh. "Why would you do that?"

"_Because unlike you Santana, I enjoy the theater and being informed."_ He sniped.

"Hey, I don't mind the theater, but I don't troll the blogs." She countered sarcastically.

"_You know what, just shut-up, and continue."_ Kurt snapped.

Santana could tell that she had ruffled his feathers because he rarely told her to 'shut-up.' She took no offense to it, just amusement that she had managed to rile him up so quickly, so she continued her story, only to be interrupted again when she got to the part about Brittany's birth parents.

"_Oh my god! That's awful! I-I don't even know what to say about that."_

"Yeah, I kinda said the same thing, but when she told me it was for the best because she got a better family out of it, I had to agree with her."

"_Yeah, I guess that would be a compelling argument. So she has two gay dads, and Rachel is her sister? Sounds like a nice family. Did you meet her dads too?"_

Santana chuckled, "No, but get this, so Brittany and I went out for lunch this afternoon and just as we're walking into the restaurant the casting office calls-"

"_Did she get her callback?"_ Kurt interrupted again.

Santana sighed, frustrated with all the interruptions. "Kurt if you'd just let me tell the story without butting in every two seconds, I'd tell you."

"_Okay, fine."_ He huffed.

"And yes she got the callback, but while she was outside on the phone, I saw Shelby and her daughter and they stopped to talk for a few minutes. When Britt came in, she was surprised to see Shelby."

"_Why?"_ Kurt interrupted again. He couldn't help himself.

"You're never going to believe this, but Shelby is Rachel's biological mother."

"_Get out!"_ Kurt gasped in surprise. _"So your new boss is Brittany's sister's mother?"_

"Actually, she's kinda Brittany's mom as well. She treats Brittany like her daughter, just like Rachel; and Beth, Shelby's daughter, called Brittany her sister and Brittany pretty much said the same thing, so yeah, it sounds like they're all one big happy family, as far as I can tell anyways."

"_That is so weird. Like how connected you two are without even knowing it."_ Kurt mused.

"I know right, Jesse, Rachel, Shelby. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if there were more connections at the rate we're going."

"_Maybe fate is telling you that this girl is one you need to hold on to."_

"I'm getting that feeling too. I mean, we instantly clicked and that's never happened to me before. It's like we were meant to know each other."

"_Mm-hmm. Santana, I'm going to say this once and then I'll shut-up about it because I know how much you hate it when I butt into you're love life, but if this Brittany is as great as you're making her out to be, and this connection that you're talking about is a strong one, maybe you should try to take things slow. I know your M.O. in the past has always been to have fun and as soon as things get boring you dump the girl-"_

"Hey, that's not fair!" Santana interrupted in a huff. "I know I've had a lot of casual flings in the past, I was young and having fun, but you know that I don't want that anymore. It's not my fault the last couple of women that I tried to have a real relationship with were superficial bitches! It's not easy to get to know someone when all they see is the celebrity."

Kurt sighed. He knew what she was going through. _"I know Santana. It's not easy to find someone who is genuine in our position, but believe me when I say that once you find that person, you have to hold on tight, and if Brittany is that person, just do whatever it takes to make it work. You don't want to rush things."_

"I know, and yes we've already talked about that, we're just going to date for a while to see how it goes and if it works out we'll see about upgrading our relationship from friendly dating to girlfriend status."

"_Okay, it sounds like you have a decent plan in place, just remember, intimacy whether it's emotional or physical is better when there are genuine feelings involved."_ He urged.

"What would you know about it, last I was told, you and Blaine hadn't ventured into that arena?" Santana challenged.

"_Things change."_ Kurt said nonchalantly.

"When?" Santana blurted without thinking, but once she had, she kinda hoped he didn't answer because she sure that those were details she didn't want to have, but it was pretty obvious that the answer was within the last two days because she was sure they had briefly discussed that topic on Thursday when she was bitching at him about booking her in coach.

"_I don't kiss and tell, but recently, so yes I can confirm that it's better when feelings are involved."_

Santana shifted uncomfortably in her seat and decided to change the subject because all this talk about feelings and intimacy was getting to be too much for her. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind, so anyways, are you and Blaine in for going out on Monday?"

"_We wouldn't miss it for the world! I have to meet this Brittany now that you've built her up. I need to see if she's all you make her out to be."_

"Don't you worry your pretty little pink head, she will be, and you'll be eating those words before the night is over." Santana insisted.

"_Then it's settled. Where are we going?"_

"Umm…I don't know, I think Britt and Rachel are making the plans. We're just along for the ride."

"_Ooo sounds interesting!"_ Kurt said at the mystery. _"Alright, I better go. I have a date with Blaine tonight that I need to get ready for."_

"Okay, I've got to go too. I need to text Britt and see when she'll be back. You two have fun tonight. Don't do anything crazy." She said with light sarcasm.

Despite her feigned indifference, she loved Kurt and she really liked Blaine, even if he had a weird affinity for Capri pants and bowties, but other than their spur-of-the-moment duets and impromptu performances in random places, they really weren't a spontaneous couple. They liked to plan things out and keep their dates low key.

"_We will; thanks._ _I'll call you on Monday before we leave L.A. to let you know if we're on time."_

"Alright." She said, and then they said their goodbyes to each other.

Santana disconnected the call and then relaxed into the chair as she sent Brittany a text to check in with her. Less than a minute later, she received a reply.

"_I'm just across the street. I'll be up in a few minutes." _

"_Okay, cool."_ Santana retuned the text and then decided to pass the time by looking at Kurt's emails again.

Ten minutes later, Santana heard the door to the suite open.

"Hey!" Brittany called into the room.

"Hey!" Santana practically cooed, looking up from her laptop and saw Brittany standing with her hands behind her back.

"Are you still working?" Brittany asked when she noticed the Laptop and a large note pad.

"No, I'm finished here. Are you hungry?"

Brittany nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving. I forgot how much energy it takes to play with an eight year old. I usually have more stamina than this."

"Yeah, I'm sure they're full of energy. I guess our recent busy days and late nights didn't help much."

"Probably not, but I wouldn't give it up. I loved spending time with Beth today. I've really missed her."

"Then I'm glad you got to spend some time together. So, I'm guessing you had fun." Santana said with a smile.

"Yeah, we played with her in her room for about three hours and then after that she wanted to build a castle, so we rearranged all the furniture in Shelby's living and dining rooms. It was the best castle ever! We even had a lookout tower."

Santana chuckled. "Really? That sounds like it was some castle."

"Yeah, Beth was the queen, I was her knight, and Shelby was our enemy invader. We pelted her with balled up socks every time she tried to overthrow the castle."

Santana could help it and busted out laughing. "Oh how I wish I could have seen that! It sounds like you had fun."

"We did, but I'm worn out now!" Brittany said with a tired smile.

"I'm sure you are after the day you've had. Why don't we go get dinner, then come back to the room and just have a quiet night in? I booked the spa for tomorrow afternoon while you were gone, so we can get an early start on the relaxation."

"Okay, sounds good." Brittany agreed.

"So where do you wanna go?"

"Umm…actually," Brittany said with a shy smile, "I have a gift for you."

"Oh really? What is it?" Santana asked and raised a curious eyebrow at the bag that Brittany handed her from behind her back.

"I know it's a little silly, but on my way back, I went across the street to the Disney Store and I bought you those movies we talked about on the plane. I was just going to give them to you, but now that we're now having a quiet night in, we could go get a pizza and some snacks and watch movies for the rest of the night."

Prior to this moment, Santana was sure that the words, 'Disney movie' and 'Saturday night' should never be associated with people over the age of twelve, but with the shy look that Brittany was giving her, and the fact that they were a heartfelt gift were reason enough for her make them associate again, so she smiled and agreed to Brittany's suggestion.

"Sure, I'm down with that. There are a couple of pizza places around here too."

"Great!" Brittany said with a wide smile. "We need to start getting you caught up anyways. If you haven't watched these movies, I'm sure there are others that you haven't seen."

"Yeah. I think I was ten the last time I saw a Disney movie."

Brittany gawked at that. "Seriously? How can you go almost fourteen years without watching a Disney movie?"

"I don't know." Santana shrugged. Until she met Brittany, she didn't think that that was unusual.

"Well, we're going to have to fix that."

"What are you, some sort of Disney freak?" Santana said with an amused laugh.

"No, not a freak, just a fan. I've always had a soft spot in my heart when it comes to Disney movies. I'm actually thinking about applying to Disneyland part time as a dancer when we get back to L.A. if I don't get the part here. I think it would be fun, and it'll give me something else to put on my résumé."

"Let's not think about you not getting the part. You got your callback, so let's just focus on that for now." Santana said to encourage her.

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it. I called Rachel and my Dads when I was at Shelby's and they all flipped out. You would have thought that I told them I was offered the lead role instead of a callback with the way they were acting. Even Beth seemed excited." Brittany chuckled.

"Family has a way of doing that, my parents would make a mountain out of a mole hill every time I won an award or did something good." Santana said.

"Oh, I'm not complaining, I kinda like that they get like that. My birth parents weren't like that at all, but really, they weren't that supportive either, at least not with me. They were better with my sister. They came to my dance recitals, but they never told me that they thought I was good and they got frustrated easily and gave up on helping me with my homework, so I struggled in school. It wasn't 'til I moved in with the Berry's that things got better for me and I realized that I wasn't stupid. They got me a tutor that caught me up and whenever I needed help understanding something, I knew I could go to them and they'd help me. I probably wouldn't have graduated high school or went to college if the Berry's hadn't stepped in and reversed the situation."

Hearing stories about Brittany's past angered Santana, as well as warmed her heart. Brittany's birth parents were horrible and she hated that there were people out there that treated their own children like that, but her faith in humanity was restored by the way the Berry's and Shelby treated her after she was disowned. She was glad to know that there were kindhearted people still out there.

"Well, that's good to hear." Santana said because she didn't know what else to say to that.

"Yeah, it's all in the past now." Brittany said with a wave of her hand. "Anyways, enough of that. You ready to go?" She asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Yeah, let me go get my shoes and we can go."

-(An hour later)-

"I can't believe that you've never had Sour Patch kids before." Santana said as they came back into the suite carrying a small bag of snacks and drinks, and two pizza slice boxes. They decided to get slices instead of a whole pizza because there was no way the two of them would finish it all.

"I didn't say that I never had them." Brittany corrected her. "I had them once, but they looked like gummy bears that turned to drugs and it freaked me out, so I never had them again."

Santana laughed at that comment. "I assure you that they aren't drug candy. They may be as addictive as drugs, but there are no drugs in them."

"Okay, for you I'll try them again." Brittany said as she kicked her shoes off at the door.

"Um, so where do you want to watch the movie? There is a DVD player in the bedroom, but if you want to watch it in the living room, I can unplug it and move it." Santana offered trying to be polite. She knew they had slept in the same bed the previous night, but they had said they were taking things slow and she didn't want to assume that Brittany would be up for watching a movie in the bedroom, even if she silently hoped that she would be.

"No just leave it in the bedroom, it's more comfortable."

"Sure thing." Santana said and gave an internal sigh of relief.

"So, my bed or yours?" Brittany asked as they walked into the bedroom.

"Huh?" Santana breathed out. She had heard that questions a few times in her life but usually it implied a sexual encounter, which she was certain was not going to happen tonight, so it had thrown her for a moment.

"Which bed do you want to watch the movie on, my bed or yours?" Brittany repeated her question.

"Mine I guess, it's directly in front of the T.V." Santana answered coolly. Internally she was doing a happy dance because Brittany wanted to sit beside her on the bed for movie time.

"Okay." Brittany said and put the stuff on the counter. "I'm going to change into my pajamas and take my makeup off, just in case I fall asleep."

"Me too. I'll change out here and when you're done changing, just let me know and I'll come in wash off my makeup too."

"Okay." Brittany responded and disappeared into the bathroom.

They both changed and then when Brittany told Santana she could come into the bathroom, they took off their makeup, exchanging coy glances in the mirror again.

"Which one do you want to watch first?" Brittany asked.

"You pick." Santana offered, because she didn't really know much about the movies to have an opinion.

"Let's watch 'Dumbo' first. It's the shortest, and it came out first."

"Sure." Santana said as she sat down on her side of the bed with her pizza box.

Brittany opened the movie and put it in the DVD player. She joined Santana on the bed with her pizza and started the movie.

They sat and watched the movie as ate their dinner. Every once in a while, they'd make a comment about what was happening. When they got to the 'Baby Mine' scene, Brittany's earlier statement came true and they both started to tear up watching Dumbo's incarcerated mother sing to him, while rocking him in her trunk. Brittany cried a little more than Santana, but that was only because Santana was willing herself not to break down. It reminded her of the way her mother used to hold her when she was upset.

"See I told you, it gets me every time." Brittany said as she wiped her cheek.

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Santana said and wiped her own tears away.

They watched the rest of the movie in relative silence, with the occasional comment here and there.

"So what'd you think?" Brittany asked when the movie was over. She got up to switch the movies out.

"It was good. I think it had the right amount of happy and sad. Although, that 'Pink Elephant' scene was a little creepy. I think the animators were on some serious drugs when they made that."

Brittany laughed. "Yeah, I used to fast forward through that scene when I was little because it freaked me out."

"Doesn't surprise me. If I was a kid, I'd be freaked out too." Santana stated.

Brittany giggled. "I think you'll like Lady and the Tramp, it's one of my favorites, and there are no creepy pink elephants."

"That's good to know." Santana chuckled. "So what's this one about?"

"It's a love story about two dogs from different sides of the tracks that meet and fall in love."

"Sounds cute." Santana said.

"It is!" Brittany confirmed with an excited squeal.

Santana chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Okay, I believe you."

"You better!" Brittany said with a smirk.

Santana just shook her head and returned the smile. "Hey, are you done with all this, because I'm going to take it out and put it in garbage."

"Yeah, thanks. I'll get this all set up."

"Okay." Santana said and then gathered up all the garbage and unfinished snacks and took them out into kitchenette area.

She put all the garbage in the trashcan and the uneaten snacks on top of the microwave, and then she took their drinks and put them in the refrigerator. When she opened the door, she noticed the strawberries and champagne bottle. She had forgotten about them, but the fruit still looked fresh and edible, so she made a mental note to remind herself to get them before their spa session the next day.

When Santana was finished with her task, she turned off all the lights in the living area and then returned to the bedroom to find that the lights had been turned off as well and from the light that was coming from the T.V. she could see that Brittany was curled up under the blankets of her bed. At first, it had caught her off guard and she stopped in the doorway. Prior to this moment, they both sat on top of the covers while they watched the movie, but the position that Brittany was in now was a lot more intimate than they were before.

"You ready?" Brittany asked.

Santana thought Brittany looked absolutely adorable with the way she had the blankets tucked under her chin.

"Y-Yeah." Santana croaked out. She really could get used to the sight of seeing Brittany curled up in her bed.

Santana started moving again and as she approached the bed, Brittany pulled the covers back for her. Santana swallowed hard and then crawled into the bed. She propped her pillow up a little so she could sit up a bit while she watched the movie. Once Santana was settled, Brittany reached for the remote in-between them and started the movie. Then she reached over Santana and placed the remote on the nightstand that was between the two beds and rested her head on Santana's shoulder.

Santana stiffened for a moment in shock because she wasn't expecting Brittany to cuddle into her, but she certainly wasn't complaining. This wasn't something that she would tell anyone, because she thought that it would take away from her badass reputation, but she loved to cuddle, and at that moment, she couldn't think of anywhere she'd rather be than watching a Disney movie cuddled up with Brittany. Santana relaxed into the embrace and moved her arm around Brittany's shoulders to hold her in place. A calm and satisfied smile found its way onto her face as she basked in the awesomeness of the moment. Sure, it might be a little silly, given their movie choice, but she didn't care, she would do it again in a heartbeat.

As they watched the movie, it didn't take long for Santana to decide that she liked the movie. She was an animal lover and it amused her to see things from a dog's perspective, well a perceived dog's perspective. Now that she thought about it, she wondered what her own dog was doing. She missed him. She had called Quinn earlier to check on him, but it didn't do much to remove the sadness she had when she was away from him for more than a day or two.

"Do you think our pets have inner thoughts like this?" Brittany asked during the 'What is a Baby' scene.

"Yeah, I think so. Max is very smart and perceptive of his surroundings. I hope when I have children, he doesn't feel neglected like Lady did." Santana said.

Brittany nodded. "I bet Lord Tubbington would be indifferent. As long as he gets fed he won't care that there is a baby around."

Santana chuckled.

"So you want children. How many?" Brittany asked out of the blue, looking up at Santana.

That question really threw Santana because she wasn't expecting it at all. "Um, I never really gave it serious thought. I know I want children, but I guess it would depend on what my wife and I agree on, but at least one, maybe more. I was an only child and I didn't mind it, my parents were really good at keeping me occupied, but I think it would be nice to have two so they could have someone to play with and rely on when they need support. What about you?"

"I used to think that I wanted a bunch of kids, like ten, but then I realized that I would be the one to give birth to them and the thought of giving birth ten times freaks me out, so I decided two or three would be enough."

Santana chuckled. "That's true if you end up with a man, but if you end up with a woman you can both take turns at giving birth. It makes it easier that way."

"So you would want to get pregnant too?" Brittany asked interested.

"Umm, I guess if that's what my wife wanted. I know this couple that one of the women wanted to carry all the children, and her wife didn't argue, so I guess it all depends."

"You certainly like to compromise don't you?" Brittany said, impressed with Santana's answers.

"I could give you a list of people that would disagree with you and say that I like things my way, but I think when it comes to this kind of stuff, a couple has to talk about it and come to a mutual agreement because if they don't it will only cause problems for them. I imagine marriage is hard enough on its own without out adding to it."

Brittany smiled, happy with the answers she was getting from Santana. They were nowhere close to marriage and children, they were less than twelve hours into the dating phase of their relationship, but just knowing Santana's thoughts on the matter were close to her own was very encouraging for her.

"You're so smart." Brittany said, her smile widening.

"Duh!" Santana replied playfully with a smile of her own.

Normally talk of marriage and children from a girlfriend or a potential girlfriend would be reason enough to make Santana nervous, but there were no nerves this time. She knew Brittany wasn't asking these questions because she was thinking about them getting married or having children, she was just asking her opinion.

They fell silent again and continued to watch the movie. Brittany shifted a little in Santana's arms as if she was trying to get comfortable, and as a result, she seemed to sink further into her. Santana felt her heart swell and tightened her hold.

When they got to the pound scene, Santana felt her heartstrings pull for the dogs. Even thought they were animated, she knew this was a very real situation. She had gotten Max from a breeder because she had a minor allergy to dogs and needed a hypoallergenic dog, but she still felt like she should try to help the animals in the shelter, so she made a very sizable donation every year to her local shelter.

Santana looked down to see if Brittany was as affected by this scene as she said she would be, but there were no tears because she had fallen asleep. Santana smiled at how cute she was. She turned her head and kissed the top of her head, and watched the rest of the movie by herself.

When the movie ended, Santana reached for the remote to turn off the T.V. and DVD player. She shimmied down in the bed so she was lying flat on her back with Brittany still in her grasp.

She kissed Brittany on the forehead and whispered, "Goodnight."

-()-()-()-()-

The next morning, Santana and Brittany both lay sleeping on their right sides, Santana was the big spoon, holding Brittany securely to her with her arm around her waist, and the bridge of her nose pressed into her shoulder blade. They were in a peaceful and sound sleep until the sound of someone knocking loudly on the door interrupted their slumber.

Santana groaned at being woke up in a very unpleasant manner and looked to see that it was a little after eight o'clock. Brittany had woken up too and just turned around and cuddled into Santana's warmth. Santana actually considered ignoring whoever was disturbing them, but then they knocked again.

"Ugh! This better be important!" Santana growled as she tore herself out of bed to see who desperately needed her attention this early in the morning. She closed the bedroom door so any noise that was made would not disturb Brittany.

When she opened the door, she saw a hotel maid posed to put a room key into the card reader.

"Oh, I thought that there was no one in." The housekeeper said with surprise. "I can come back."

Santana was not a morning person and she hated to be woke up, so her first impulse was to give the woman a piece of her mind for waking her up so early, but when she looked at the door handle, she notice that she had forgotten to put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign out. She bit back the tirade that she had prepared since this actually her own fault.

"Um, actually, we're fine; can you just give us a clean set of towels and take out the garbage?" She asked. She knew that the housekeeper would try to come back later and she had no idea when they were going to be out of the room for an extended period.

"Yes, Miss." The maid said and leaned down and retrieved a new set of towels.

Santana held the door open for her so she could come into the room.

When it looked like the maid was headed towards the bathroom, she decided to stop her because the only way in the bathroom was through the bedroom, and she didn't want to startle Brittany with a random person walking in on her in bed. Granted she was clothed, but Santana knew if it was her, she wouldn't want to be walked in on while in bed by someone she didn't know.

"You know what, I'll take the towels. The trash can in the bathroom isn't full."

"Okay." The housekeeper said and handed Santana the towels. She then went into the kitchenette area and took the trashcan out into the hallway to empty it before she brought it back in the room.

"Is there anything else I can get you Miss Lopez?"

No, thanks." Santana said and followed the maid to the door.

She placed the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door before she returned to the bedroom. She went into the bathroom, put the towels on the counter, and then went back to bed. Brittany was lying on her back with her eyes closed. Santana assumed she was asleep again.

When she felt Santana get into the bed, Brittany asked in a sleepy voice with her eyes still closed, "Who was it?"

"Just the housekeeper. I forgot to put the sign on the door."

"Oh. We gotta remember to do that. I was enjoying my cuddles." She said with a lazy smile.

"I think I can help with that." Santana said with a smile of her own. Both women rolled over so they were spooning again, tightly pressed into each other and Santana nuzzled her nose into Brittany's back. They were asleep again within minutes.

-()-()-()-()-

An hour and a half later, Santana was taken from her sleep a second time that morning by the sensation of Brittany lightly running her fingers up and down her arm, which she had to admit, was a much more pleasant way to wake up.

She smiled into Brittany's shoulder blade. "Good morning." She said happily.

"Morning." Brittany cooed, but she didn't move. She was happy where she was.

"How long have you been awake?" Santana asked.

"Not too long. I couldn't see the clock but I guess around half an hour."

"Ah." Santana said and then yawned.

"Are you hungry?" Brittany asked

"A little bit. I know a nice little bakery a few blocks from here that has awesome bagels and pastries."

"Ooo, now I have to try it." Brittany said intrigued.

"You won't be disappointed." Santana and then sat up a bit, looking over Brittany's shoulder to see her face.

"You wanna go for a walk afterwards? Maybe do a little sightseeing?" Santana offered. She knew they didn't have a lot of time to explore before their spa appointment, but it was her experience that you didn't have to go to a tourist trap to see New York, you just had to walk its streets. There was always something interesting to see.

"I'd like that. Do you mind if I ask Rachel if she wants to join us? She has her show tonight and I have to go to bed early for my callback tomorrow so this might be the only time I get to see her today." Brittany asked shyly, she turned her head a little to look at Santana.

"Sure. Of course." Santana said with a smile. She knew how much Brittany missed her family after not being with them for so long and she knew that she'd have her to herself for the rest of the day, so she wasn't bothered in the least by the request.

"I'm going to hop in the shower first since I seem to take longer than you to get ready." Santana said as she moved a stay hair out of Brittany's face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Okay, San." She said with a content smile.

Santana returned the smile and then leaned over, giving Brittany a quick kiss on her cheek before she slipped out of the bed. She hated to move, but they did have to eat and shower at some point today because they had people coming by the room in a couple of hours.

-()-()-()-()-

"Do you think the masseuse would give me a foot rub if I asked?" Brittany asked as they walked back into their room.

"Um, I don't see why not." Santana answered casually as she removed her shoes, and then she had a moment of panic.

After their breakfast with Rachel, it was just them again, so they walked around Bryant Park for a while and then they wondered down streets and avenues when they saw something in the distance that caught their attention, but now that she thought about it, a long walk probably wasn't the smartest idea the day before a dance audition.

"Are your feet hurting you?" Santana asked anxiously.

"No." Brittany chuckled. "When I was giving Rachel a hug goodbye, she suggested it since I have my audition tomorrow."

"Oh good!" Santana gave an audible sigh. She must have missed that part of their conversation. "For a second there I thought I had screwed up by making you walk too far."

"Aww don't worry, San. I would've had said something if I was starting to hurt."

"Well, all you have to do is relax for the rest of the day. We should go get undresses and put on those fluffy robes and slippers that they have in the bathroom, and then while we're waiting for them to arrive, we should open that bottle of champagne and have some strawberries."

"Ooo, sounds nice, I can't wait!" Brittany said with a slight squeal. "You know, this will be the first time that I've had a relaxing spa treatment. The last time I saw a masseuse was when I pulled my hamstring and it was anything but relaxing."

"It's very soothing. I fell asleep last time I had a massage. Oh and the facials are great too. I feel so clean afterwards."

"Rachel used to give me facials. I can hear her now going on and on _and on_ about how important skin care is. Her nighttime routine is insane, but I have to admit that I never had to worry about pimples in high school."

Santana chuckled. "Yeah I can see that about her, she seems like she can be intense at times."

Brittany laughed. "You know, even though she seems crazy at times, she really isn't too bad once you get used to it."

"I'm sure." Santana said still chuckling.

"Okay, enough about Rachel, let's go get our relaxation on!" Brittany said as she practically skipped into the bedroom.

Santana just shook her head in amusement as she followed her into the bedroom.

Once they were undressed and changed into their robes, they went back into the living room. Brittany went to the couch and made herself comfortable and Santana retrieved the champagne and strawberries from the refrigerator before she joined Brittany on the couch.

Two glasses of champagne each, and three-quarters of a bowl of strawberries later, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Brittany said jumping up.

When she opened the door, she ushered in two women in their mid-twenties each carrying a massage table and a large duffle bag.

"Wow. Those look heavy." Brittany said, intrigued.

"Um, they're about forty pounds." A tall freckle-faced redhead said as she looked around the room. "Where would like us to set up."

"In here is fine." Santana said as she stood up from couch. There was plenty of room in the living room for two tables.

When the other masseuse, a short Asian woman, caught sight of Santana, she let out a quiet but audible gasp. Apparently, she was not aware that their client was _The_ Santana Lopez.

Santana noticed the gasp and the look on the surprised woman's face and she hoped that she didn't go autograph crazy. She was there to help them relax. Thankfully, she got her wish, because after a few moments of being star struck, the woman came back to her senses and resumed her duties.

"So, I'm Colleen." The redhead said introducing herself. "And this is Lina." She said pointing to the other masseuse who was having a hard time maintaining eye contact with Santana.

"Santana." She said politely, but she was fairly certain that her introduction was not needed.

"I'm Brittany." She said with a little wave. She was quite excited for her first professional massage and facial.

"So, what kind of treatments are you ladies having done today? The paper work says a massage and facial but didn't specify what kind." Colleen asked.

"I'd like a Swedish Massage and a Deep Cleansing and Relaxation Facial." Santana said quickly, having already looked at their services the previous day when she booked the session. "What about you Britt?"

Brittany wasn't sure what kind she wanted, as she was not well versed in massage and facial types, so she just agreed with Santana because she figured that she knew what she was talking about. "Yeah that sounds good." She said.

"Umm, Brittany has a dance audition tomorrow; do you think that you could give her a quick foot rub as well?" Santana asked. She knew Brittany had wanted a foot rub, but she thought that she might be too shy to ask.

"Sure. The massages are fifty minutes, but I can cut it short to forty minutes to rub her feet." Lina answered, finding her voice.

"Thanks." Brittany said with a smile.

"Perfect." Colleen said. "Would you like some background music or sounds? We have a several CDs to choose from."

"Like what?" Brittany asked, curious.

"Mostly classical music or nature sounds, but we have some other genres too. The ocean waves are our most popular, but if none of that appeals to you, we could always use your own music."

"Oh, I don't really have a preference, but the ocean waves sound kinda nice." Brittany said to Santana.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you want." Santana agreed. She honestly didn't care what they listened to, but even if she did, she wasn't going to disagree with Brittany; this was mostly for her to relax before her audition, so she was going to let her have whatever she wanted.

"Okay, now that that is all decided, we'll get the tables and the CD all set up, and then we'll step out of the room to allow you two time to disrobe."

"Thanks." Santana said coolly, but she felt herself get nervous.

This would be the first time in the past three days that she would see Brittany in a state of undress and she was slightly freaking out over it, which was new for her. Usually seeing someone that she was interested in naked was not a problem, mainly because sex was the point of them being together, but as with everything the last couple of days, things were different with Brittany. Santana really liked her and she didn't want to rush things with her. She had even managed to sleep in the same bed and cuddle with Brittany for two nights in row without any sexual tension, and she was worried that once she saw what Brittany looked like in only her underwear, the sexual tension would pay her a visit, because the sight of a clothed Brittany was hard to get rid of, so one of her mostly naked was never going to leave her memory.

Within a few minutes, Colleen and Lina had set up and then stepped out in the hall giving them time to get disrobed and under the cover that was provided.

If Brittany was nervous about this part, she didn't show it, because she just untied her robe and placed it on the back of the chair that was closest to her.

Santana wasn't as calm. Her eyes were floating all over the room, trying not to look directly at Brittany in only her panties. She wasn't successful, and once she had that vision in her mind, she knew she was screwed. Brittany was absolutely flawless. Several words came to mind for Santana. Perfect, sexy, incredible, but the word that she thought fit Brittany best was beautiful. It almost was like looking at a work of art.

Brittany seemed to notice Santana's apprehension but she misinterpreted it thinking that Santana was insecure about herself, which really wasn't the case because Santana was very confident about her physical qualities.

"You know you don't have anything to worry about. You look great." Brittany said with reassurance, her vision never leaving Santana's face. She had briefly seen what Santana looked like, but she didn't need to look her up and down to make a point.

"Oh?" Santana said as she laid down on the table and covered herself up. "Umm thanks…you too." She said shyly.

"Duh, we're hot!" Brittany said with a chuckle and covered herself as well. She too was confident in her looks.

Santana laughed and just like that, her nervousness was gone.

-()-()-()-()-

"My face feels so clean and tingly, and my whole body is relaxed. I might have to start doing this more often." Brittany gushed, clearly impressed with her experience.

"Yeah they did a very good job." Santana responded. She too was feeling very relaxed. "Do you two have cards?" She asked the masseuses. The next time she was in New York and in need of a massage, she was going to call one of them.

"Yes, here!" Colleen said excitedly. She reached into her pocket, pulling out one of her cards, and gave it to Santana.

Lina did the same and gave it to Brittany.

"We'll just be a few minutes and then we'll be out of here." Colleen said as she bent down to put her things in her bag before she folded her table.

Santana went into the bedroom and when she came back out, she handed each woman a small envelop with money in it for a tip.

"Thank you." Lina said in small voice and smiled, but she was still having trouble maintaining eye contact with Santana.

Santana thought it was actually pretty cute because she had never met anyone who was a fan of hers to be so shy about it, and that included Brittany. She went over to the couch to join Brittany for another glass of champagne and to finish off the strawberries.

While they were waiting for the two masseuses to finish packing their things, Santana noticed Colleen elbow Lina playfully in the side and whisper, _"Do it. You know you want to." _To which the shy woman hissed, _"No!"_ in response.

Santana had an idea what was going on and she found it amusing. "What does she want to do?" She asked with a playful smile.

Brittany had not overheard the exchange between Lina and Colleen so she was curious as to what Santana was asking and turned her attention to them.

"Um, nothing." Lina said quickly and shot Colleen an angry sideways glance.

"No come on, what is it." Santana gently urged. She knew that Lina wanted her autograph, or a picture, and she was more than happy to give it to her since she had respected her privacy and hadn't ruined their relaxation by requesting one, but she wanted to make sure that was it, because she didn't want to be the celebrity that just assumed that someone wanted her autograph.

When it seemed like Lina's shyness was going to take over, Colleen spoke for her friend. "Um, Lina is one of your biggest fans Miss Lopez, do you think she could get a picture with you and maybe your autograph?"

Lina looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her.

Santana gave her a friendly smile. "Sure. I'd love to."

Lina must have thought that she was going to refuse because she gave a small sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Miss Lopez." Lina said as she stood up, handing her cell phone to Colleen.

"Oh you're welcome, and you can call me Santana."

"Okay." She said with a nervous laugh.

"Just don't take it too low, I'm in a robe you know." Santana joked.

Colleen laughed. "Of course."

Santana put her arm around Lina and they both smiled. Colleen showed them the picture and Santana was satisfied that it didn't reveal too much. It was only a head shot.

"Would you like one of the two of you?" Brittany asked.

"Umm, sure. Thanks." Colleen said and handed the phone to Brittany.

"Okay, paper…" Santana said as she looked around for something to sign for Lina after their picture.

"Actually…" Lina said. "I have a couple of your CDs in my bag, would you mind singing one of them?"

"Sure." Santana said with a smile. "Do you have one too?" She asked Colleen.

"Yes, would you mind signing it?" She asked politely.

"Of course not." Santana responded and signed both CDs with a personalized message for each woman.

"Thank you so much Miss-I mean Santana." Lina said more excited than she had been the whole time she was there.

"Yes, thank you." Colleen said, just as excited.

"You ladies are more than welcome, and thank you so much for your support and for not yelling excitedly in my face and asking for an autograph."

Everyone laughed at that.

"Does that happen often?" Lina asked a little more confident that she did previously.

Santana chuckled. "Most of the time. It's just excitement on their part, but it's nice to have someone approach me quietly for a change."

"I'll keep that in mind." Lina said with another shy smile.

"Okay, I think it's time we leave and let you ladies to get back to your day." Colleen said as she bent down and put her table strap on her shoulder. "Have a good one. It's nice to have met you."

"Yes, thanks again." Lina said lifting her table as well.

"No, thank you." Santana said and walked them to the door.

"Thanks." Brittany called over to them and waved from the couch.

Once they were gone. Santana made sure the' Do Not Disturb' sign was still on the door and she returned to Brittany who was now standing by the couch.

"Well, aren't you popular?" Brittany teased and moved a little closer to Santana.

"Yeah, that was calm compared to what it's usually like. Plus, I felt bad, she was nervous and I appreciated her not coming right out and asking me."

"I thought it was sweet. You wanna tell me again that you're not nice?" Brittany challenged with a playful smirk.

"Maybe! Last time I got a kiss out of it." Santana joked.

Brittany smiled and then closed the space between them. She cupped Santana's cheek and leaned in taking her lower lip between her own.

Their second kiss lasted significantly longer than their first, and since it wasn't in the aftermath of a sad moment, it was much more passionate. Santana melted into the embrace and wrapped her hands around Brittany's hips pulling their bodies together, and despite the fact that they were wearing very fluffy robes that were much thicker than their clothes; they both felt a spark when their bodies met.

Santana felt her whole body heat up when Brittany moved to deepen the kiss. She tangled her fingers into Santana's hair and pulled her closer, brushing Santana's lip with her tongue. When their tongues met for the first time, Brittany let out an excited moan and Santana gripped Brittany's hips tighter. As the kiss became more heated, Santana thought she might faint from a combination of excitement and want.

Santana wanted Brittany in every way possible, and for probably the first time in her life, she realized that that want also meant emotionally, as well as physically, and she knew that this time she had to play the game differently and take Kurt's advice. She had to show Brittany that she wasn't just in it for a week of fun; she wanted more.

When Santana's arousal was almost to the point of no return, she tried to lessen the pulse between her legs by squeezing them together and she broke their kiss, because she needed to stop now if they were going to stick to the 'go slow' plan.

They were out of breath after such a heated kiss and Brittany felt her whole body tremble with excitement. She was very turned on by Santana, and as much as she wanted to continue kissing her, she was happy that Santana had ended the kiss because she wasn't sure if she would've been able to after too much longer.

Santana moved one of her hands from Brittany's hip to her cheek and gently pulled down so they could rest their foreheads together. They stood there for about a minute in each other's arms, just breathing in the same air and a calm passed between them.

"That-That was amazing." Brittany said with a dreamy awe as she rubbed Santana's cheek with her thumb. "I don't think I've ever had a kiss that good before."

"Me either." Santana said, agreeing with her. She had had a lot of kisses in her life, but none that made her see sparks. Actual sparks. She had always assumed that saying was a just a cheesy cliché, but with Brittany it was true. She finally understood what it meant.

Santana then placed a soft kiss to Brittany's lips before she moved out of the embrace. She hated to do it and apparently Brittany did too because she pouted from the loss of contact, but Santana knew one of them had to if they wanted to keep this situation from escalating further.

"So, here's what I'm thinking," Santana started to say and took Brittany's hand into her own, "Since today is all about relaxing, I say we go get in our jammies, order room service, and then crash in front of the TV for the rest of night. How's that sound?"

Brittany's pout turned to a smile after that. "Mmm, I like the way you think, Lopez." She said, and practically dragged Santana into the bedroom.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N**: I hope everyone enjoyed this fluffy chapter. Thank you so much for reading and if you have time, please let me know what your thoughts on the story are!

Thanks to **Stalpankaka** for her help with this chapter!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

When the alarm clock went off at six-thirty on Monday morning, Santana jumped in fright. She reached over to the nightstand and fumbled with the buttons on the clock until she found the right one to turn off the alarm. She had been in such a deep sleep that it took her a few seconds to recognize her surroundings, but when she felt Brittany nuzzle into her shoulder and pull her back into her, she relaxed again.

"You better get up." Santana said; her voice dry and scratchy from sleep. She had turned the alarm all the way off and she was afraid if they laid there for too long they would fall asleep again, and with no snooze alarm to wake them, Brittany would certainly be late for her audition.

"But that would mean having to move." Brittany said with a yawn before she started to lightly run her fingers over Santana's hand. She was fully awake, but she knew she had a few minutes to spare because she had set the alarm early, so she was going to capitalize on the time that she had and enjoy the closeness of having Santana in her arms.

"I thought you were excited for this audition?" Santana asked. Her hand was tingling from Brittany's soft fingers tracing across her skin.

"I am, but I have a beautiful woman in my arms and I'm not sure if I can bring myself to let go." She flirted, and shifted so her nose and lips brushed up against the bare skin of Santana's neck.

"Mmm, that's quite the problem you have there." Santana quipped with a smile as she rolled over onto her other side and rested their foreheads together. She wrapped her arm around Brittany's waist, pulling her as close as she could, and tangled their legs together.

"Now I really don't want to move." Brittany said playfully.

Santana chuckled.

They laid there cuddling for a little while longer, and then when Brittany didn't move after ten minutes, Santana spoke up.

"Okay, I see I'm going to have to take over here. I'm going to go downstairs and get breakfast for us, and while I'm gone, you're going to get out of this bed and get ready."

Brittany smiled and then nodded. She knew that her extra time was up. "Yes ma'am!" She chirped, and then untangled herself from Santana. When she rolled out of the bed, Santana sat up and turned on the bedside lamp.

"What would you like to eat? There's a breakfast bar in the hotel, so I can get you anything you want."

Brittany thought about it, she didn't want anything too heavy. "Umm, I guess a couple of hard boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, if they have it, any flavor is fine, and if they don't have it, just regular yogurt will do, and some toast. I think that'll hold me over for a while."

"What do you want to drink? Coffee?" Santana asked as she got out of bed.

"Oh no, I'm wide awake as it is and I'm afraid coffee will make me jittery. I'll take a bottle of water and some orange juice please."

"You got it." Santana said and then looked around the room. "I'm just going to brush my teeth and then I'll get dress and go."

"Okay and thanks." Brittany said with an appreciative smile.

-()-()-()-()-

"So what're your plans for the day?" Brittany asked Santana as they ate their breakfast together.

"I'm going to go to the hotel gym and get in a workout after you leave, and since my lawyer gave me the go-ahead on my contract, I have to meet Shelby at one o'clock to sign it. After that I'll probably come back here and go over some paperwork while I wait for you to finish and Kurt and Blaine to arrive."

"Hmm, sounds like you have a busy day ahead of you." Brittany said, and finished her orange juice.

"Probably not as busy as you'll be. Are you nervous?"

"A little bit, but not as much as I was on Friday. I'm not going to focus on that though. I'm just going to go in there and give them my best, and whatever happens, happens."

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Santana said with a reassuring smile. "So, I meant to ask yesterday, but do you know where we're going tonight?"

"No. Rachel's planning it since I'm not familiar with New York."

"Oh okay." Santana said with a shrug.

"I can't wait for tonight though. It's going to be so much fun and I'm really looking forward to meeting your friends." Brittany said with excited anticipation.

"Yeah, me too, and Kurt's really looking forward to meeting you." Santana replied with a smile. She loved how the simplest things could amuse or excite Brittany. She thought that was a great quality to have.

"Oh, you told him about me?"

"Uh-uh." Santana mumbled as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Really? So what'd you say?" Brittany asked. She was curious as to what was said about her.

"Just that I met this really crazy girl on the plane that won't leave me alone." Santana teased. She tried to keep a straight face but when Brittany playfully slapped her on the arm, she started to laugh.

"That's mean, Santana." Brittany fake pouted.

"Aww, I'm just kidding. I told him I met this great girl on the plane and that I really like her."

Brittany grinned. "What'd he have to say to that?"

"Just that he wanted to meet you."

"I hope he likes me." Brittany said shyly.

"He's going to love you." Santana assured her.

Brittany smiled and then checked her watch. "I better get going. I want to get there early so I can get a head start on my stretching."

"Okay." Santana said. She reached for a plastic bag that was on the floor next to the coffee table and then stood up. "Here, I got you some protein bars and a couple bottles of water to take with you, just in case things run long and you don't have time to leave for lunch."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you!" Brittany cooed. She took the bag from Santana and then pulled her into hug. "Thank you, and thanks for getting me breakfast this morning."

"No problem." Santana sighed contently and tightened her hold around her. "Good luck today." She offered when Brittany pulled back a little to look at her.

"Thanks." Brittany responded and then smirked. "You know what would help?"

"What?" Santana asked, quirking a curious eyebrow. If there was something she could do to help Brittany, she was going to do it.

"Well…I think it's customary to get a good luck kiss from the person you're dating in situations like this."

"Oh! I can definitely help you with that." Santana said with a cheeky smile and leaned in giving Brittany a soft lingering kiss.

"That totally helped." Brittany said with dreamy smile. She really liked kissing Santana.

"Are you sure? Cuz I can give you another one of those if it wasn't enough." Santana offered in a flirty tone. She really wanted to kiss her again, but she didn't want to push it.

"Mmm, maybe just one more for good measure." Brittany readily agreed and then let Santana kiss her again. "Yep, I'm going to rock my audition now." She whispered and gave Santana another hug.

Santana chuckled. "I'm glad I could be of help."

They held onto each other for a few moments before Santana came down from the high that she got every time she kissed Brittany and returned to reality. "You better go if you want to get there early enough to stretch."

"Yeah." Brittany giggled, returning to reality as well, and pulled out of Santana's arms. She picked up her bag, put the plastic bag that Santana gave her into it, and then slung it over her shoulder. "I'll text or call you later if I get the chance."

"Okay, sure." Santana said and then took her hand and walked her to the door. "Have fun and kick some ass today."

"I sure will!" Brittany chirped and then leaned in, giving Santana a quick peck on the lips, before she walked into the hallway and whispered goodbye.

"See ya." Santana waved and watched Brittany walk up the hall until she glanced back and waved at her before disappearing around the corner.

Santana closed the door and leaned up against it, squealing like a teenager with her first crush.

-()-()-()-()-

Santana sat in the waiting area outside of Shelby's office staring off into space, mindlessly shaking her leg. She was letting her nerves get to her. She thought she would've heard from Brittany during lunch to give her an update as to how things were going, but unfortunately, the last time Santana heard from her was when she left their room almost five hours ago.

"_I hope it's going well."_ She thought. She knew how much Brittany wanted to get a part in that show, and she didn't want to see the hurt in her face if she didn't get it.

She sat there for a few more minutes lost in her nervous thoughts until the sound of Shelby's voice calling her name caught her attention.

"Hi there." Shelby greeted Santana in a friendly tone and motioned for her to follow her into her office.

Santana smiled and wordlessly followed her new boss. She stood by the door until Shelby closed it and then moved further into the room.

"Sorry I kept you waiting. I was on the phone with Beth's school. There was a bit of a dramatic situation between Beth and couple of other students at lunch." Shelby apologized, and sat in her chair.

"Is she okay?" Santana asked with concern as sat down in one of the chairs in front of Shelby's desk.

"She is now that I talked to her. This morning her teacher had the class stand up and give a little presentation about what they were doing for the summer and a few girls decided to pick on her for not having a dad. She knows she's adopted and that there's all kinds of different families, so normally stuff like that doesn't bother her, but apparently those girls said some very mean things to her and it was just too much for her to handle."

"That's terrible." Santana breathed out. "The teachers just let that happen?"

"I asked the same thing, but it was in the lunch room so they didn't really notice that there was a problem until Beth started yelling at them."

"I'm sorry to hear that she's upset. She seems like such a sweet girl." Santana said.

"Thanks. She is." Shelby beamed from the compliment. "So anyways, that was the family drama for today. Hopefully that's all it will be." She said.

"Let's hope." Santana said agreeing with her, and then looked down at her watch again.

"Are you nervous?" Shelby asked, in a knowing tone.

"About what?" Santana asked, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion. She didn't find anything to be nervous about in signing her contract.

"About Brittany." Shelby clarified. "I saw you in the waiting area. You were spaced out for a little while, and you've checked your watch about four times since you came into my office, so I just assumed."

"Oh." Santana said, surprised; she hadn't realized that she was that transparent. "Yeah I guess. I was hoping that she would've call by now. Has she called you?"

Shelby shook her head with a flat smile. "Not yet."

Santana just nodded.

A silence settled between them for a few moments as they both considered what they should say next.

"Brittany is an excellent dancer; she has more talent than most of the professional dancers that I've worked with in the past, so I wouldn't worry too much." Shelby said, hoping that would ease Santana's mind.

And it did.

Santana knew Shelby's opinion was well respected in the entertainment industry and if she gave you her endorsement, it was worth taking.

"Santana…" Shelby started to say and paused to make sure she had her words right. Santana could hear the concern in her voice. "We've been colleagues and friends for a while, and I really like you, and think you're a good person, so please don't take offense to this, but I know that there's more going on between you and Brittany than friendship, so I just want to say what any parent would say. Brittany is very important to me. I don't see her any differently than Rachel or Beth, and I don't know how much she's told you, but she's had some heartache in the past and I don't want to see her get hurt again. She's such a special person. She's kind and caring and she has so much love to share, so I'm asking you as a parent, and a friend, please be good to her. Respect her."

Santana shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Being 'grilled by the parents' was new for her, because other than a handful of parents that she met when she was in high school, she'd never met any of her former girlfriend's or potential girlfriend's parents, but despite her nervousness, she appreciated Shelby's concern for Brittany. She wasn't looking forward to this conversation, but she figured that this was one of those times in life that she needed to share her feelings. Shelby was practically Brittany's mom, and despite the fact that she had known Shelby for almost four years, she wanted to make a good impression, so she pushed herself to open up.

"I can see where you might be concerned for her given certain aspects of my past," Santana said with some embarrassment to her past behavior, "but I can tell you that I don't want that anymore. I haven't for a while. I want to have a healthy and stable relationship with a woman that I can see myself being with for the long term, but lately I haven't had much luck in that department."

Santana momentarily paused and looked down into her lap with apprehension before she sighed and returned her attention to Shelby.

"I know we've only know each other a few days, but we instantly clicked. That's never happened to me before. I really like her, and I want to get to know her better. I know I'm not perfect. I'm nowhere close to it, and I know I'll make mistakes, but I promise you that I would never do anything to intentionally hurt Brittany."

Shelby considered Santana's words for a few moments as she took in her body language. She prided herself on being able to tell if someone was being sincere or just bullshitting her and telling her what she wanted to hear, and what she saw in Santana was sincerity. She could tell that she was being honest with her. "I believe you, so for now, that's all I can ask from you." Shelby said with a thankful smile.

Santana let out a sigh of relief. She was happy that that went well for her.

"Okay, so now that that's been covered, how about we actually discuss what you came here for?"

Santana laughed, thankful for the change in subject. "Okay."

"Oh and if you want to pull your phone out so you can see if she calls while we're doing this, go ahead, because if she calls you, I want to know how things are going as well." Shelby said in an amused tone when she saw Santana subtly check her watch again.

Santana just blushed in embarrassment from being caught again, pulled her phone out of her purse, and set it on Shelby's desk.

-()-()-()-()-

Santana was sitting on the couch of her suite looking over some possible fall designs that Kurt had emailed her, when there was a knock at the door. She looked at the time and saw that it was after five o'clock.

"_Must be Kurt."_ She thought.

He had texted her earlier and told her that he and Blaine were going to take an earlier flight. She was expecting them to arrive at the hotel around this time, so she was surprised when she opened the door and Rachel was standing there instead of Kurt and Blaine.

"Rachel?" She said in obvious surprise. "Hey."

"Hi, Santana." Rachel greeted her. After a few moments of them just standing there she added, "May I come in?"

"Oh!" Santana jumped a little when she realized that she had just been staring at Rachel and hadn't offered her to come in. She was still a little surprised to see her there. "Yeah, sorry. Come on in."

"Thank you." Rachel said as entered the room. "Sorry to just show up like this, I hope I didn't interrupt anything. I would've called, but I didn't have your number."

"It's fine. I was just surprised to see you so early."

"I wasn't planning to come by until later, but the anticipation was killing me. Brittany sent me a text message this morning to say that she was going into her audition but I haven't heard from her since then. Has she called you?"

Santana gave a defeated sighed and flopped back down on the couch. "No, Shelby and I were waiting for a call earlier while we were going over my contract. I was kinda hoping that she had called you."

"Shoot. She hasn't called our dads either, so I don't know if I should worry or take that as a good sign." Rachel lamented as she sat down in one of the open chairs.

"You're the Broadway star; don't you know how they do things here?" Santana asked the obvious; she knew how things worked in the music and film arenas, but she had no clue how things in the theater world worked.

Rachel smiled at the compliment. "Why thank you Santana!" Her smile was so wide it took up her whole face. "And yes, I expected an update by now. I can't imagine that they worked through lunch. Equity would have a fit over that."

Santana nodded, because she recognized the name as the stage actors union, and she knew how particular unions could be over stuff like that.

"Maybe she was nervous and didn't want to jinx it, so she's waiting until she has an answer before she calls us." Santana offered after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm, maybe." Rachel said, perking up. "This is the biggest audition that she's ever had. I remember when I was auditioning for Evita; I was so nervous the night before that even a Barbra Streisand movie marathon didn't help."

Santana raised a dubious eyebrow to that comment. "Oookay. I guess there isn't anything that we can do, except wait." Santana said, resigned.

"I guess you're right." Rachel huffed.

A brief silence settled between them. Santana checked her phone again just to make sure that it wasn't accidentally put into silent mode, and Rachel anxiously fiddled with the hem of her skirt

"So, umm, Kurt and Blaine should be here soon." Santana said to break the silence.

"Oh, lovely!" Rachel chirped. "I'm so looking forward to meeting your friends."

"Yeah, they're good guys." Santana said with a nod. "So what're we doing tonight?"

"I remembered you saying the other day at breakfast that you really liked Italian food, so I booked the VIP booth at Breadstix for the five of us. I didn't know when everyone would be available to get together, so I reserved it from seven to ten just so it would be available for us when we got there"

"Oh, nice." Santana said happily. She _loved_ Breadstix. Yeah, it was a chain restaurant, but she didn't care, it's been one of her favorite places to eat since she was a kid and it held a special place in her heart.

"Yeah, it's one of Brittany's favorites. We used to go there all the time growing up." Rachel said.

This was news to Santana, and she was so happy that she and Brittany had that in common. So far, Rachel was gaining points in her book.

"Me too." Santana confessed.

"Excellent! I'm glad that I picked it then." Rachel said, pleased with herself.

"So, what're we doing after dinner?"

"Um, I thought we could go to Callbacks. It's a bar that I used to frequent while I was doing my undergrad and masters at NYADA. I used to tell Brittany about it and I figured that tonight would be a good time to take her there."

"Okay. Is it a college bar?" Santana asked. She wasn't upset with the idea if it was; she just wasn't expecting that from Rachel. She was expecting some quiet cocktail lounge.

"It's a piano bar, a lot of NYADA students go there, but it's not uncommon for Alumni to comeback from time to time to perform."

"Perform?" Santana quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh yes. Pretty much everyone sings a song while they're there. I don't think it'll be too lively tonight since NYADA is in between semesters. There'll be some people there, but I don't think it'll be crowded."

"So it's a karaoke bar?" Santana deadpanned. She cringed to think about the last time she went to a karaoke bar; the songs were butchered beyond belief, and it had taken her a full day to recover from that harrowing experience.

"Sort of, but a lot nicer, and since most of the people that go there go to NYADA, the singers are actually competent."

"Oh okay."

Santana was skeptical, but she wasn't going to say anything because she wanted to make a good impression with Brittany's sister, and since she was sure that it would be, at the very least, entertaining, she went along with it.

They sat in silence for a few more moments, lost in thought over the night's planned activities.

"Hey!" Rachel blurted unexpectedly, slightly startling Santana. "You know what would be fun; you and I should do a duet tonight!"

"Uh…okay." Santana said unsure. "What kind of music do you like?" She didn't really know any music from Broadway and she got the impression that Rachel lived and breathed Broadway.

"All kinds, but I was thinking we could do something by Madonna or Whitney Houston. I remember seeing an interview you did a few years ago and you said that they were some of your favorites, and they just so happen to be some of mine as well, so maybe we could do one of their songs."

This perked Santana up. "Oh really? Yeah, I think I could be down with that." She knew Rachel was a great singer, so she was sure they would kick ass doing a duet together.

"Great! I'm really looking forward to it!" Rachel cheered. When she calmed down, she looked around the room. "Is it okay if I use the restroom while we wait?" She asked.

"Yeah. It's right though the bedroom." Santana said, pointing in the direction.

"Okay. Thank you." Rachel said and then disappeared into the bedroom.

Santana looked at her open laptop and figured that she wasn't going to get any more work done with Rachel there, so she closed it and started to pack it in to its case. A moment later, she heard the suite door open. She looked up and saw Brittany come through the door and it looked like she was in a state of shock. Santana couldn't tell for sure, but she guessed that Brittany either got a part and was surprised by it, or she didn't get anything and she was numb.

"Britt?" Santana said hesitantly and quickly met her in the middle of the room. "Are you okay?"

At first, Brittany didn't respond. She had been in a haze the whole way back to the hotel because the reality of her situation had just set in and she was in…shock, yeah that was the best word to describe it. Complete and utter shock. She wasn't even sure how she got back to the hotel. When she finally registered that someone was talking to her, she snapped to and saw Santana standing there looking at her expectantly.

"Britt how'd it-" Santana started to ask again, but was cut off when Brittany cupped both her cheeks with her hands and pulled her into a very unexpected kiss.

Santana eagerly returned the zealous kiss. Her hands immediately found their place on Brittany's hips and pulled her into her so their bodies were pressed together. When Brittany moved one of her hands into Santana's hair and ran her tongue across her lip, Santana parted her lips so she could meet Brittany's tongue with her own and a breathy moan escaped from the sensation.

Brittany felt her legs go weak as the kiss went on and deepened and she was very pleased that it had nothing to do with the amount of dancing she had done that day. Santana was an amazing kisser and she wanted, no needed this. After the day she had, she needed to feel those soft lips against her own to ground her.

They were so lost in each other that Santana forgot that there was someone else in the suite with them and she jumped, breaking their kiss, when she heard a small gasp behind her.

Brittany's hold on Santana was tight, so even though they weren't kissing anymore, they were still pressed into each other, and she reluctantly turned her head in the direction of where the interruption came from. She nearly jumped when she saw Rachel standing there looking very much surprised by the heated exchange between them.

"I—I'm sorry to interrupt." Rachel squeaked, a blush forming over her cheeks.

"Rachel?" Brittany chirped and released Santana, moving to embrace her sister. "I wasn't expecting you to be here. I was just about to call you."

Santana pouted from the loss of contact, but she took comfort in the fact that when Brittany let go of her, it wasn't because they were caught. It was from pure surprise at seeing Rachel, and judging by the excited kiss she just received, she assumed that Brittany had good news to tell them and she was eager to tell it.

"I was going crazy at home waiting for you to call and I needed to get out of there, so I came over here to wait it out with Santana." Rachel said.

"Oh." Brittany said and pulled back from the embrace so she could see both Rachel and Santana. "I'm sorry that I didn't call you guys earlier. I had a lot to do today and I didn't really have anything to tell you at lunch, so I just decided to wait until I knew if I got a part or not." She explained, feeling a little guilty for not calling, because it was obvious that everyone was on pins and needles waiting to hear from her.

"Soooo?" Rachel drawled, slightly impatient for an answer.

"Did you get it?" Santana added, anxious as to what the answer was.

Brittany looked between them and then a wide smile appeared on her face. "I did!" She squealed loudly in excitement. They were the first ones that she had told and it was exhilarating.

Rachel and Santana's anxious expressions quickly transformed into ones of relief and joy and they too let out excited squeals.

"I knew you would!" Rachel said jumping up and down as she gave Brittany a tight hug.

"That's so great, Britt!" Santana chirped and waited her turn to hug Brittany.

"We're so proud of you!" Rachel cheered for her and Santana. She hoped that Santana didn't mind her speaking for her, but she could tell from the look on Santana's face it was true for her too, so she didn't worry about it too much.

"I have to go in tomorrow after lunch for a meeting with the director and the cast. I think we're going to go over our scripts and some of the choreography." Brittany added in excitement.

"So what part did you get?" Santana asked when she realized that they hadn't asked that yet. They had just jumped into celebratory hugs and words at the first mention of Brittany getting a part that they forgot that they hadn't gotten all the details.

If it was possible, the wide smile that was on Brittany's face got even wider as she answered, "Sara."

Rachel and Santana just looked at each other as if the other would know what that meant, but they didn't. Somewhere in the back of their minds, they felt as if Brittany had mentioned that name before, but they couldn't remember for sure. They turned back to Brittany, silently asking her to elaborate.

"Sara is Leigh's best friend. It's the second female lead."

"Holy shit!" Santana breathed out, and Rachel looked like she was going to pass out.

"Brittany, this is—it's amazing!" Rachel blurted and hugged Brittany again. "If this show becomes a hit, every actress that plays Sara in the future will be compared to you! We need to call the Dads and Shelby right now! They're going to be so excited!"

Brittany chuckled as she watched Rachel move across the room to find her cell phone. She turned to Santana, took her in her arms, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "So, I guess you're excited too." She said quietly as she rested their foreheads together.

Santana sighed in contentment. "Yeah. I'm so happy for you. I knew you'd do well."

Brittany chuckled and pulled back so she could look get a better look at Santana's face. "I know you did, but you haven't seen me dance yet, so how could you be so sure." She teased.

Santana returned the chuckle. "I guess it's just my sixth sense."

"Oh, so you just knew, huh?"

"Yeah…but that doesn't mean that I don't want to see you dance sometime in the near future. I don't think I can wait 'til your opening night. It might just kill me." She joked.

"Are you asking for a _private_ performance?" Brittany playfully asked with her eyebrow arched.

Santana's eyes widened at what she thought Brittany was suggesting, because that was not what she meant at all, but now that she mentioned it…_"No, slow! We have to take this slow!"_ She internally berated herself.

"Um, yeah, I mean no…I mean, yes I want to see you dance, but it doesn't have to be _private_. I told you I wasn't going to rush us, I'm just really interested in seeing you dance sometime." She said and hoped she didn't come off as crazy as she sounded in her head.

Brittany let out a giggle. "I get it, and yes, I would love to dance for you soon." She said and leaned back down to place another soft kiss on Santana's lips.

Just as they were pulling back, Rachel came back into focus and they could hear her chattering in the background.

"Mom, its Rachel." Rachel said to Shelby over the phone, trying to hold back how excited she was, she didn't want to take Brittany's thunder. Usually she liked the spotlight, but this was not her spotlight to take. "I'm going to put you on speaker with Dad and Daddy. Brittany is here and she has some news for us."

Brittany took Santana's hand and they walked the short distance back to Rachel. Santana braced herself for what she guessed was about to happen. If she and Rachel flipped out with excitement over Brittany's new role, she was sure her parents were going to kick it up a notch.

-()-()-()-()-

Santana was close to killing somebody. She was actually looking around the room for something sharp to put her out of her misery. Rachel, Kurt and Blaine were sitting with her in the living room while Brittany took a shower, and for the past forty minutes the conversation had consisted of Evita, NYADA, Broadway, Barbra Streisand, Broadway, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Broadway, Wicked, Barbra again, Broadway and it just went on and on. Santana really couldn't get into the conversation, because other than seeing a few shows, she had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, so she was stuck listening to their excited banter and it was starting to grate on her nerves. The only positive thing about her current situation was that everyone was getting along great, Rachel and Kurt especially; it was almost as if they were operating on the same wavelength or something.

"Judy Garland or Liza Minnelli?" Rachel asked.

"Ooo, that's a hard one." Kurt said and thought about it for a moment.

"Judy, all the way." Blaine answered right away.

Santana rolled her eyes. This was too much for her to handle and she was about to put her acting skills to use and fake a heart attack, or something serious, to put an end to this nightmare when Brittany popped her head out of the bedroom door.

"Santana, can you come help me for a minute?" She asked sweetly.

"_Oh thank god!"_ Santana cheered in her head. "Yeah, sure." She answered Brittany and quickly hopped up.

When Santana entered the bedroom, Brittany closed the door behind her and she sighed in relief.

"Thank you! Britt you have no idea what kind of torture I was put through out there."

"Oh yes I do." Brittany said with a giggle and took Santana into her arms. "I overheard part of the conversation, and I kinda figured you were lost, so I thought I'd come to your rescue and give you a break. The look on your face was priceless. You looked like you were about to lose it."

"I was! Seriously, those three aren't normal!" Santana huffed and snuggled into the crook of Brittany's neck. She was definitely happier there than out in the living room.

Brittany giggled again, "Welcome to my world. This is what it's like all the time in my family."

Santana leaned back and gawked in disbelief. "Seriously…and you've lived to tell about it? How is that possible?"

"Before I was adopted, I used to just smile and nod whenever Rachel would start up about something, because let's face it, she likes to talk, so even thought I was completely lost, all I had to do was make it seem like I was following her. It wasn't until after I was adopted and I was around it more often, that I started to pick up on it, so yeah, I guess it's one of those things that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." She said with a shrug.

"So you're telling me that if I meet your dads, I'm not going to be able to follow anything they say?"

"What do you mean by _if_?" Brittany asked with a sweet smile. "You should be saying _when,_ and yes, you will be able to have a conversation with them, because they talk about other stuff too. It's only when they get together with theater fans that they get a little carried away with the theatrical stuff. You'll see, and I know you'll like them."

Santana blushed. She was happy that Brittany wanted her to meet her dads and she hoped that they liked her. She felt lucky that Shelby was on her side, so she hoped that she found favor with Mr. and Mr. Berry as well. "Okay, I'm sure I'll like your dads _when_ I meet them." She said with a shy smile.

"Good, because I know they're going to love you." Brittany cooed, nuzzling her nose with Santana's before she leaned down and took Santana's lower lip between her own.

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck to pull her closer. Soft kisses lingered between them and when they parted, they both had content smiles on their faces.

"I love your sweet lady kisses." Brittany said in a breathy whisper. They really were the best kisses that she had ever had.

"Mmm, me too." Santana agreed in a dreamy tone. "I think I need another one."

Brittany smiled and kissed Santana again, this time gently pushing her back into the closed door of the bedroom.

Santana let out a muffled gasp when her back hit the door and it sent a spark through her, encouraging her to deepen their embrace. She put a hand on Brittany's cheek and the other she tangled into her long blonde hair as she pulled Brittany completely flush with her, their tongues meeting again.

As the kiss became more heated and fervent, so did Brittany's boldness. She was in desperate need to feel Santana's skin against hers so she slowly moved her hands from Santana's hips under her shirt and ran her hands up and down her sides. She loved the feel of the soft skin in her hands and she pushed her hips into Santana's a little harder, causing a moan to leave her lips.

Santana whimpered and shifted a little to straddle one of Brittany's legs so that their thighs were pressed into each other's centers. She need to feel some pressure because her arousal was stating to become too much and she was fighting the urge to pull one of Brittany's hands out of her shirt and put it between her legs.

A few moments later, they had to tear themselves away from each other's lips for some air. They both needed to take in deep breaths of air to calm themselves.

"Do you think they'd notice if we just stayed in here and never went back out there." Brittany joked, her hands still in Santana's shirt.

Santana snorted out a frustrated laugh, because as much as she wanted to continue making out with Brittany, and forget about everything else, she knew they better not, because not only was that the quickest way to possibly ruin the 'go slow' plan, but she was sure that that was the best way to make a bad impression with Rachel.

"Ugh, that sounds great, but I think your sister would kill me if we blew her off."

Brittany sighed and pulled back from Santana because she knew she was right. Rachel would be upset since she went to the trouble to make reservations and planned a night out for everyone, and now that that night had turned into a celebration for her, she guessed that she needed to show up to her own party.

"I guess, but they're probably so wrapped up in whatever nonsense that they're talking about to even notice that we blew them off."

Santana laughed again, but it was much less frustrated this time. "Probably."

"I do want to get to know your friends, though. I barely got to talk to Kurt and Blaine." Brittany said. They had walked in just as she was finishing her phone call with her parents, so all she was able to do was introduce herself, and thank them for their congratulations, before she left to get ready.

"Yeah, Kurt would probably kill me too if we didn't go out, because he is really looking forward to spending some time with you."

"So I guess that means we're going out."

"Yeah, but if they don't mix up the conversation a bit, I won't be held responsible for my actions." Santana said in a serious tone.

Brittany laughed. "Don't worry about it; I'll just save you again."

"Oh, really? I liked how you saved me this time." Santana said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I don't think that that would be appropriate in public."

"Maybe not, but I think we could come up with something else that would distract us from the three insane people we've found ourselves with."

"Oh I'm sure." Brittany agreed and then went into the bathroom again. "I just need to check my make-up and make sure our little make out session didn't ruin it, and then I'll be ready to go."

"Yeah I guess I better check mine too." Santana said joining her in front of the mirror. "You look great by the way." She said with a sweet smile.

Brittany blushed from the compliment. "Thanks, so do you."

-()-()-()-()-

"Santana, I must say that you have lovely friends." Rachel whispered to Santana as they were shown to their table at Breadstix. "Kurt and Blaine and I have been getting acquainted and they are so sweet. I just love them. I kinda feel like Kurt and I are kindred spirits."

"Mm-hmm." Santana muttered. She agreed with her, those two were in a world all on their own. The ride to the restaurant was an extension of the mind-numbing scene from the hotel room. They just transferred their conversation from the living room to the cab. Thankfully, she had Brittany and Blaine to distract from it when they started a conversation about Brittany's cat.

When they were seated, everyone quickly gave their drink orders, and since they were all familiar with the restaurant, they gave their dinner orders as well.

"So, Santana, I haven't had a chance to ask, but how did you and Kurt meet and end up becoming business partners." Rachel asked.

Kurt laughed. "This is a great story."

Santana smiled. "We went to the same college, but we didn't meet until I started working at the same restaurant as Kurt."

"Did you become instant friends?" Rachel asked cheerfully.

"Oh hell no!" Kurt snorted in amusement. "On her second day, she was walking out of the kitchen with a full tray of food, but she used the wrong side of the door and I bumped into her, spilling the food all over her. She was covered from head to toe." He laughed at the funny memory.

"It was bad enough that I was covered in food, but I ended up with minor first-degree burns on my chest and stomach, so needless to say I was not happy with him." Santana added. "I think we bitched and bickered at each other for the first month and a half we worked together."

"So how did you become friends?" Brittany asked.

"Oh, Santana was my knight in shining armor one night." Kurt said dramatically and flashed Santana a cheeky smile.

"How so?" Rachel asked.

"I walked out of the restaurant late one night and I saw him being mugged at knife point." Santana answered as if it was no big deal.

Brittany and Rachel gasped at that detail because they were the only ones at the table that didn't know the story.

"Did you save him?" Rachel breathed out the question as if it wasn't obvious. Kurt was sitting right beside her, safe and sound, but she was too caught up in the story to think about that fact.

"Yeah. The mugger had his back to me so, I grabbed one of the ceramic flowers pots that was hanging by the door and hit him on the back of the head with it. When he jerked back, I kicked him in the hand so he'd drop the knife while I spraying him with pepper spray. I also might've kneed him in the face when he fell forward, knocking him out." Santana said with a smug smile.

"It was quite exhilarating to watch. It moved so fast, I thought I was in an action film." Kurt added.

"Wow!" Brittany said, turning to Santana. "So you're like a super hero."

Santana laughed. "No, not a super hero, I was terrified, but the adrenaline took over and I just reacted."

"We were both shaking after she dropped the guy and I don't really remember who initiated it, but somehow we ended up in a tight embrace, which helped us both calm down until the police arrived, and after that, we sort of just became friends. We went shopping together, we hung out at each other's apartment, went to movies, etc., etc., etc." Kurt said with a roll of his hand.

"How'd you guys end up working together?" Brittany asked.

"Ooo, can I tell it?" Kurt asked.

"Sure." Santana said with a wave of her hand. It wasn't that exciting, but if he wanted to tell it, he could have at it.

"One night we were cleaning up after closing, so we did as we always did, and cranked up the radio. It was just an ordinary night, but one of our customers had forgotten his credit card, and when he came back to get it, he walked in while Santana was belting out a Beyoncé song as she was cleaning and it impressed him. It turns out, he was an executive at a record label, and they ended up signing her. So when it came time for Santana to hire a stylist, she asked me, which I said yes to, and the rest is history."

"From humble beginnings to success. What an amazing rags to riches story." Rachel complimented them.

Santana rolled her eyes, because it seemed like Rachel was over dramatizing it.

"I know." Kurt chuckled, agreeing with Rachel.

"Well, I'm just glad it all worked out, because if those two hadn't become friends, then I may not have ever met Kurt." Blaine added with a sweet smile directed at his boyfriend.

"Oh really, you must tell me this story." Rachel chirped.

As Blaine and Kurt started to tell the animated version of how they met at a fashion show, Brittany put her hand on Santana's knee and leaned into her.

"I had no idea that you were so kick ass. Stopping that mugger and saving Kurt. I guess your badassness is hidden under your sweet exterior." Brittany whispered with a sweet smile.

Santana chuckled, because it was supposed to be the other way around. "No, I only show my nice side for you."

Brittany gave Santana a look that said that she didn't believe her. "Yeah okay, you keep thinking that."

-()-()-()-()-

"Rachel, you and I must do a duet. Something from the Broadway Catalog." Kurt chirped as they sat down at a table in Callbacks.

"I agree; all the NYADA students will love it!" Rachel chirped back.

Santana looked around the room and noticed that the bar wasn't too busy, maybe half full, just as Rachel said it would be.

"Are you going to sing tonight?" Blaine asked Brittany as she looked through the available songs.

"I don't know. Probably not. I'm not as good as Rachel and Santana or most of the people in here."

"Brittany, don't put yourself down like that." Rachel insisted. "You know you have a nice voice."

"Okay, I can sing, but I'm not going to be as good as the people in here. They're practically professionals."

"Hey, why don't you do a Britney Spears number; that way you can sing and dance. You used to do them all the time." Rachel suggested.

"Really?" Santana asked; her interest was definitely piqued.

"Oh yes, she was very good at them." Rachel complimented. "It was very entertaining to watch."

The image of Brittany dancing to a Britney Spears song flashed into Santana's head, and she really, _really_ wanted to see that.

"Okay, maybe. I might sing." Brittany said, not committing to anything. The thought of singing in front of a room of talented NYADA students, who lived their lives as if it was an ongoing musical, was more than a little daunting; even if she knew she could carry a tune.

"If you don't want to sing, we can find something for you to dance to." Rachel offered. "You'd be surprised how often people have dancers accompany them while they sing. Sometimes it's like a whole production."

"Really?" Santana asked again with a raised eyebrow. She had never been to a karaoke bar where people had backup dancers.

"They take their performances serious here." Rachel confirmed.

"I do like to dance." Brittany said with a smile. "I guess I can do that instead."

"Sounds great! I can't wait to see Miss Brittany dance." Kurt added enthusiastically before he turned to Rachel and Blaine to see what they were thinking about singing.

Santana leaned into Brittany, putting her arm on the back of her chair, and whispered into her ear. "So, I guess this means I'm going to get to see you dance sooner than I thought."

Brittany smiled and turned into her. "I guess so."

"You know, I'd love to see you see you sing and dance to a Britney Spears song." Santana said, trying to encourage her.

"Really?" Brittany asked with her eyebrow arched and a shy smile on her lips.

"Mm-hmm, it would be super-hot." Santana breathed out in what Brittany could only describe as the sexiest voice she had ever heard. It sent shivers down her spine.

"You think?" Brittany swallowed hard.

"Oh I don't think; I know it will be." Santana said with confidence. "But, only if you want to." She added, because she remembered the apprehension in Brittany's face from a few moments ago. "If you don't want to sing that's okay too. Either way, I'm just happy to spend time with you."

Brittany smiled widely before closing the distance between them and placed a soft kiss to Santana's lips.

"Ugh, get a room." Kurt said playfully when he noticed the sweet scene in front of him.

Brittany blushed and pulled out of the embrace, but she didn't go so far as to leave Santana's personal space. They were still siting quite close. Santana on the other hand, glared at Kurt for interrupting, and had Blaine not been in between him and her, she would've kicked him very hard in the shin.

-()-()-()-()-

Santana was excited, because she was going to see Brittany preform for the first time. She was having a hard time containing that excitement, but somehow she managed to keep herself together while she waited for Brittany to take the stage. Everyone in their group had already had a turn, to sing. Rachel and Kurt sang a duet from 'Wicked,' Blaine did a song from 'West Side Story', and Santana refrained from singing one of her own songs and sang one of her favorites, 'Valerie.'

Santana had to admit that she was enjoying herself, and watching the others sing as well, because Rachel was right, those NYADA kids were good. So far, the only part of the night that was stressful was when people realized that she and Rachel were there, and groups of people started approaching the table for pictures and autographs. A few of the fashionably conscience fans even recognized Kurt and wanted to meet him as well.

Santana, Rachel, and Kurt had indulged their fans for a few minutes, but they knew that this was Brittany's night and they didn't want the focus to be on them. They were out to not only get better acquainted, but to celebrate Brittany's new show, so after a few minutes they politely asked everyone to please let them enjoy their night, and thankfully their fans respected their wishes.

Santana's thoughts returned to Brittany as she saw her step on the stage. She didn't know what Brittany was going to do, because it was supposed to '_be a surprise'_ as Brittany said earlier with a coy smile, but Santana figured that she was going to sing because no one from their group accompanied her to the stage. She looked around to Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine and they too looked like the excitement was boiling inside them. Rachel especially.

"Did she tell you what she's doing?" Santana asked Rachel as she watched Brittany talk to the piano man, who also served as the DJ when the song didn't require a piano.

"No, but if I know Brittany, it's going to be something that she can dance to."

Santana nodded and then leaned back into her seat, but it appeared as if Rachel wasn't finished and she lean towards Santana and placed one of her hands on Santana's arm.

"Santana, since we have a minute to ourselves without Brittany, I just wanted to say that she told me what's going on with you two. I mean I could've guessed after walking in on you kissing, but she told me and I haven't seen her this smitten with a potential partner in a while, or probably ever now that I think about it. I know things with you two are new, but I can tell you really like my sister. The way you look at her, and talk to her, and touch her, tells me she isn't just some girl that you're looking to hook up with."

Santana blinked a few times as she processed Rachel's words. She wasn't expecting this conversation to happen in a bar, but really, it didn't matter to her where it happened, it sounded like she was on her way to getting Brittany's sister's blessing, so she was ecstatic.

"Thanks Rachel." Santana said with a smile. "You're right, I really like Brittany. She's unlike anyone I've ever met before."

"She's a sweet girl. Sometimes I worry because she just puts everything she has into her relationships and unfortunately she's had people take advantage of that and they've broken her heart-"

Rachel didn't get to finish because Santana cut her off, "Rachel, I really care for Brittany and I love spending time with her. I have no intention of hurting her or taking advantage of her."

Santana was sincere with her promise and she hoped that Rachel could see that she meant what she said.

Rachel gave her a warm smile and patted her arm with the hand that she had placed there earlier. "As long as you add to her happiness and give her as much love as she'll give you, I have no problem with you two being together. In fact, I welcome it."

Santana smiled again, relieved. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."

"So, do you still want to do a duet tonight?" Rachel asked, changing the subject.

"Sure. Do you have a song in mind?"

"I was thinking-" Rachel started to say, but was cut off when a voice came out of the speakers.

"_Okay, Ladies and Gentleman, we have a special treat for you. Most of you here know Rachel Berry, and here to perform for the first time at Callbacks is her sister Miss Brittany Pierce! Please give her a warm welcome!"_

Santana felt her heart jump in her chest in anticipation and excitement as the room applauded Brittany as she stepped up to the stage again and set up with her back turned to the crowd. There was no microphone on stage as they had given her one that fit over her ear. It was apparent that she was going to be moving around a lot because they had also moved a few items off the stage.

When the applause started to die down, Santana could hear a soft murmur from the people around her. Apparently, everyone was intrigued as to what Rachel Berry's sister was going to do.

A silence then settled over the room. Brittany did a sultry turn as the music started, and Santana immediately recognized the song. It wasn't a Britney Spears song; it was a Beyoncé song. 'Run the World.'

Brittany moved to the music while she sang and it only took about three seconds for the room to erupt in cheers as Brittany stepped off the stage and started to move and dance her way through the excited crowd.

Santana was mesmerized by watching Brittany not only find the courage to sing, but by her dancing, it was pure talent. She was fluid, and graceful, and beautiful, and downright sexy. It was probably the hottest thing Santana had ever seen. She couldn't take her eyes off her, everyone in the room disappeared except for Brittany.

As Brittany made her way over to their table, she smiled and then came right up to Santana and danced right in front of her. Brittany directed every move she made towards Santana and Santana had to force herself not to reach out and touch her. When Brittany dipped down to the floor and made her way up, Santana's eyes followed her all the way down and all the way back up. When Brittany was eye level with Santana again, she winked and reached over to run a hand over her tanned cheek before she moved on and made her way back to the stage.

When the song ended, Brittany pumped her fist into the air and the room went nuts. Everyone started clapping and cheering, but as loud as they were, none were as loud as the group that came with Brittany. The four of them came close to making themselves hoarse from cheering so loud. Rachel flung her arms around Santana's shoulders and started to bounce up and down; it didn't take long to encourage Santana to join in and the two of them cheered while jumping in place.

Brittany made her way back to the table as the next person was taking the stage, and she rejoined her friends with a wide smile on her face. Once she was seated again between Rachel and Santana, Santana took her in her arms and kissed her without warning. Brittany put a hand on her cheek and smiled into the kiss. When they parted after a few moments of being in their own world, the congratulations began before either of them could say anything.

"Girl, you killed that song!" Kurt said getting out of his seat to give her a hug. "What were you so worried about?"

"I don't know." Brittany said with a chuckle. She wasn't expecting everyone to react as they did.

"Brittany that was great, it truly was." Blaine said reaching across the table, took her hand into his, and gave it an affectionate squeeze.

When it was Rachel's turn, she didn't say anything; she just gave an excited squeal and pulled Brittany into a tight hug. When the hug ended, Rachel cupped Brittany's hands into her own. "I told you you'd do fine, and you were simply outstanding up there! I wish I had thought to record it, because you know how our parents would have loved to have seen that."

Brittany blushed from all the praise she was getting. "Thanks. It was a lot of fun. As soon as I saw that song in the list, I knew I had to do it."

"It was excellent." Kurt chirped. "I think we all did great tonight."

"I agree, and Blaine I want to talk to you about something." Rachel started.

Brittany turned away from the conversation and leaned into Santana, who hadn't taken her attention away from her since she returned to the table.

"So what'd you think?" Brittany asked in a shy whisper so only Santana could hear. She was flattered from the reception that she had gotten from the crowd, and her friends, but out of all that, she really just wanted Santana's opinion.

"The kiss I gave you when you came back didn't tell you?" Santana asked playfully. She had her arm on the back of Brittany's chair and she was running her fingers through the tips of her blonde hair.

Brittany blushed and took Santana's other hand into her own. "That was nice. I really liked that."

Santana smiled. "I did too, but really, you were amazing tonight Britt. I loved every second of it. You were so beautiful and sexy. I couldn't take my eyes off you."

"I did kinda just dance in your face; you had no choice but to look at me." Brittany joked.

"That's not true. I watched you the whole time, but the part where you danced for me was my favorite." Santana said with a smile.

"I know, I was just playing," Brittany cooed and then leaned in further to put a soft kiss to Santana's lips. "But just so you know, I was dancing for you the whole time. The only reason I got up there tonight was for you."

Santana felt her heart flutter and a heat rush to her cheeks. She didn't know what to say because she felt a swell of emotion hit her. Brittany knew just what to say to make her melt. So, instead of saying anything with her words, she said it with a soft lingering kiss.

-()-()-()-()-

"I had so much fun tonight!" Rachel chirped as they all returned to Santana and Brittany's suite. Blaine and Kurt just had a regular room that was not big enough to accommodate all of them comfortably, so they decided to end the night in the suite.

"Yeah, me too, this is truly a night to remember." Kurt added.

Santana wanted to roll her eyes at his dramatizing, but she had to agree he was right, but for a much different reason. Seeing Brittany dance was something she was not going to forget, and the way Brittany cuddled into her the whole night and made it seem like she had to always be touching her in some way, innocent as it was, sent shivers through Santana. She loved how intimate a simple touch to the hand or cheek could be, and honestly, it wasn't something that she ever took the time to consider before, but doing it with Brittany was something she found herself craving. She felt cold if she was near Brittany and they didn't have some form of physical contact. Even now as they sat together on the couch, they were holding hands.

"I had the best time tonight, and it was great to meet you two." Brittany chimed into the conversation, directing it towards Kurt and Blaine.

"It was great meeting you too." Blaine said with a smile.

"I totally agree. Oh how I wish we had a drink to toast this new friendship. One that I hope will last a lifetime." Kurt added.

"I think we did that a few times tonight." Santana stated. Three times, if memory served her correctly. They had done it once at dinner, Rachel's idea, and then at Callbacks when they got there, Kurt's idea, and then before they left Callbacks, they had another toast, Rachel _and_ Kurt's idea.

Brittany turned to Santana with a sweet smile and gently squeezed her hand, because she could tell that the constant flare for the dramatics was starting to take its toll on Santana's nerves.

"I know, but once more wouldn't hurt." Kurt said, unaffected by Santana's annoyance. He was used to it by now, but he did have to admit that she was much more patient and agreeable to be around when she was with Brittany.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat." Blaine said after a yawn.

"Yeah, me too. A transcontinental flight and then partying it up is a lot." Kurt agreed.

"What time is our appointment with the realtor?" Santana asked.

"Eleven." Kurt said and then looked at his watch seeing that it was after two o'clock in the morning. "So I guess this is our cue to head out."

"Yeah, I think I should go too." Rachel said gathering her things.

Santana noticed Brittany frown and look at the time as well, and she didn't seem happy about her sister heading home at that time of night by herself.

"Hey, Rachel, you know it's really late for you to be going out by yourself, if you want to stay the night you can. There's plenty of room here." Santana quickly offered and ignored the surprised look on Kurt's face.

"That's really sweet of you Santana." Rachel said smiling. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

The happy smile on Brittany's face was all she needed to be sure she did the right thing. "Yeah, it's no big deal."

"Okay, thanks. I guess I'm staying. Blaine, you can just meet me here before I leave and then we can go back to my apartment together to prepare before we meet Jason."

"Who's Jason and why are you taking Blaine to meet him?" Brittany asked, and the look on Santana's face asked the same question.

"Weren't you two paying attention tonight?" Rachel asked. "We discussed this right after Brittany's performance."

"No, they were too busy exchanging googly-eyes and playing kissy-face to notice." Kurt said matter-of-factly.

He was right, but that didn't mean that he had to call them out on it and make it sound like they were having a full on make out session at the table. They kissed a few times, but they were sweet, almost chaste kisses. Santana was about to let him have it, but Brittany squeezed her hand to calm her.

"That's true." Rachel agreed with Kurt and then answered the original question. "When I heard Blaine sing tonight, I realized that he would be perfect to play Che. David Martinez wants to end his contract early and they're going to let him if they can find a suitable replacement. I know they've been looking but haven't found one that was just right, and his understudy likes the flexibility of being an understudy, so I'm going to introduce Blaine to the director to see if he would be suitable."

"Oh." Brittany said with surprise.

"Yeah, isn't it fantastic?" Kurt chirped.

"Don't get too excited, I may not be what they're looking for." Blaine warned, because he could see Kurt's excitement.

"Okay, I won't get too excited, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed." Kurt said and lifted his hands with crossed fingers for effect.

"Me too." Rachel beamed.

"Okay, as much fun as it's been, we all need to get some sleep." Santana said standing up.

Brittany followed her up and then moved to say her goodbyes.

Once Kurt and Blaine left for their room, Brittany gave Rachel a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to wear to bed.

"I think I might have to do some laundry soon." Brittany said as she routed through her bag. She had only planned to stay for three nights, and while she did pack a few extra articles of clothing, just in case she spilled something, she definitely needed to wash some things, and soon.

"You can come with me to my apartment tomorrow and do laundry there. Jesse and I have our own washer and dryer. We insisted that we found an apartment with hook-ups in the unit because we were tired of using the communal ones. After doing it for years in college, we've been put off by it."

"Okay. Thanks Rachel." Brittany said and she took her own pajamas out of her bag.

Brittany and Santana quickly went through their nighttime routines, which was much quicker than what Rachel's was going to be, so had she let the two of them go first.

Rachel could be heard harmonizing in the shower when Santana and Brittany crawled into bed. After an extended goodnight kiss, Brittany rolled onto her side and Santana curled into her back, draping and arm across her waist.

Then, just as they were about to fall asleep, Santana's phone chimed, temporarily pulling them from sleep.

"What is it?" Brittany murmured.

"A text." Santana grumbled and reached for her phone to see what couldn't wait until morning.

"Who's is from?"

Santana read it and couldn't help but smile. "Kurt."

"What's he want?"

"Have a look for yourself."

Brittany took the phone and blinked a few times before the words on the screen came into focus.

**From Kurt Hummel 2:56 AM:** _Okay, I couldn't wait until tomorrow to tell you, but_ _Brittany is such a sweetheart and a definite keeper. Blaine and I love her already! I want you to know that if you screw things up with her, I'm planning various forms of torture, so make sure you get this right. Anyways, have a good sleep, and I'll see you in the morning._

Brittany chuckled and handed the phone back to Santana. She was glad that she had made such a good impression with Santana's friends. She heard Santana type back a quick response and she was curious as to what it was.

"What'd you tell him?" She asked settling back into Santana's hold.

Santana was glad that Rachel was still in the bathroom and not around to hear their conversation. She kissed Brittany's shoulder before she nuzzled her nose into the crook of her neck. "I told him he had a deal."

Brittany giggled and Santana kissed her shoulder one more time before she whispered, "Come on, let's get some sleep."

The last thought on Santana's mind before she fell asleep was that she wasn't worried about Kurt's threat of torture. She knew if she was ever stupid enough to screwed things up with Brittany, her own heartbreak would be far worse than anything Kurt could come up with.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N**: Okay, another chapter down! There were a few serious moments, but a lot of fun moments in there as well, so I hope you thought it was balanced. Anyways, thanks for reading and if you have time, please let me know your thoughts. Feedback is always welcomed and needed to improve the story!

Thanks again to **Stalpankaka** for her help with this chapter! If you haven't, and you have time, check out her stories. You'll love them!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

Santana was once again taken from her sleep by a knock at the door. She looked at the time to see that it was around eight-thirty. She knew for a fact that she had put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door, so she doubted it was the maid, but if it was, she was really going to rip into her.

She thought about ignoring the person, especially since Rachel and Brittany had not heard the knocking and were still fast asleep, but whomever it was, they were not giving up, so she got out of bed quietly, and closed the bedroom door before she walked over to the front door and ripped it open in a huff.

"What the fuck are you doing up so early, and why the hell are you waking me up?" Santana ranted heatedly, but quietly, so she wouldn't wake up Brittany and Rachel.

"Well good morning to you too." Kurt snapped back. "Are you going to let me in?" He asked, because Santana had her arm propped up on the doorframe, blocking him from entering.

"No, I'm going to slam the door in your face and go back to bed."

"Okay, I'll just leave you with some reading material." Kurt said and took the paper that was under his arm and unfolded it to show her the front page of a gossip magazine.

Santana eyed the paper and instantly recognized a picture of her and Brittany cuddled closely together with a bolded headline that read: "**Santana Lopez Gets Cozy with New Girlfriend in New York!"**

"Shit!" Santana spat, snatching the paper from Kurt's hand and moved further into the living room, indicating to Kurt that he should follow.

"So I'm guessing you're publicist didn't release these." Kurt deadpanned.

Santana didn't answer, because the answer was obvious. She flipped through the paper to find the article about her and Brittany and she was flabbergasted to see a three-page spread of pictures of them at Callbacks from the previous night. There were a few that included Kurt, Blaine, and Rachel, but they were mostly of her and Brittany interacting, cuddling, leaning in to whisper into each other's ear, and two pictures of them kissing; which was something considering they had only kissed four times the whole time they were in Callbacks, and they were there for hours.

After looking at all the pictures, Santana read the script aloud so Kurt could hear.

"_There's a new woman in Santana Lopez's life, and her name is Brittany Pierce, sister of Broadway star Rachel Berry. The new couple was spotted getting cozy on Monday night in a New York karaoke bar as they hung out with Rachel, Lopez's stylist and business partner Kurt Hummel, and his cute boyfriend. They spent several hours at the bar, where they all participated in singing and even signing autographs for fans. The highlight of the evening, according to an insider, was when Miss Pierce performed a song by Beyoncé that included some jaw dropping dance moves. The amorous look on Santana's face tells us that she enjoyed her girlfriend's performance as well." _

"This is ridiculous!" Santana huffed, slapping the paper face down onto the coffee table. "What the hell am I going to do now? I mean this is going to freak Britt out. She's never had to deal with this before, and it's not like this is just a little blurb, its three fucking pages!"

"I know, and we really should've been more careful. I think we were all so distracted by having a good time that none of us noticed that someone was taking pictures." Kurt responded.

"I thought Rachel said, _'the kids at NYADA are respectful of those sorts of things, because they hope to one day be in our shoes,'_ or some sort of bullshit like that."

Kurt nodded. "She did, but that doesn't mean that one of them didn't call a friend who might've called a friend; or maybe one of the staff did it and was looking for some quick money; who knows at this point, it could've been anybody."

"Fuck!" Santana breathed out and buried her face in her hands. She needed to think.

After a few moments, Kurt spoke up. "I know this sucks, but you can't let this get you down. You and Brittany are perfect for each other. I saw the way you two were with each other last night, and if I didn't know that you had only known each other for four days, I would've thought that you were an established couple that were madly in love; which is saying something considering I know how you are, but I really felt it last night, you truly care for her."

"Yeah, but that might not matter if this scares her away." Santana said in a small voice as she lifted her face out of her hands.

"Then don't let it."

"It's not that easy Kurt. I have no control over this; this is a decision that she has to make."

"Well help her make it, and if you have to, fight like hell to keep her, because Santana I've seen a lot of girls come and go with you, but Brittany, she's not like any of them, she's the one you've been looking for."

Santana just stared at Kurt for a few moments as she processed his words. "Do you really think we look like a love sick couple and she's the one?" She asked sincerely, because this was new for her, and she was experiencing a lot of heavy emotions for Brittany that she was wasn't sure that she should be feeling this quickly, and she didn't know if it was normal or if she was just crazy.

"Do you?" Kurt asked, turning the question around.

"I don't know, maybe." Santana said quickly and then paused; deep down she knew that wasn't the right answer. "Yeah…yeah she is." She said nodding. She looked down at her hands in her lap. "Is…Is it okay to think you're falling in love after four days, or have I lost my mind and this is just an infatuation that's going to wear off soon?"

"Have you ever felt like this before?" Kurt asked, already knowing the answer, but he wanted to help her work it out for herself.

"No." Santana sighed and turned to face him. "I mean, I'm not heartless, I did care for some of the girls I've dated in the past, but I've never felt this strongly for any of them, and certainly not this quickly."

"It's okay to love her; you don't have to be afraid of it." Kurt said with and encouraging tone. "There's no rule that says you have to wait a certain amount of time to fall in love with someone, it just happens on its own, and if you're worried that it's one sided and she might not feel as strongly as you do, then you're wrong. Brittany is totally hung up on you, and it's not because you're rich or famous, it's because she sees you for you."

Santana nodded as she considered his advice. He was usually right about these things.

"Thanks, Kurt." She said with a small smile and leaned over to give him a hug.

"Oh you're welcome. This is what I'm here for." He said lightly and rolled his eyes playfully.

A moment later, Brittany walked into the living room, "Hey guys." She said and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

Kurt and Santana broke apart when they noticed her. Santana took in Brittany's stance and she didn't seem to be upset or excited so Santana figured that Brittany hadn't heard anything that was said between her and Kurt.

"Hey." Santana said with a warm smile. "Did we wake you?

"No, I just noticed that you weren't in bed anymore so I came to find you. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Oh no. We were just having a little lady chat." Kurt said with a nervous chuckle. "Anyways, I hate to rush off, but Blaine and I have plans to get Breakfast before our appointments. Santana, I'll come by around ten-thirty to pick you up."

"Yeah, okay." Santana said, walking him to the door. "Thanks again."

"You're welcome." Kurt said loud enough that Brittany could hear and then he leaned in to kiss Santana on the cheek, which was something he never did, but he did it this time so he could whisper something to her. "Just remember what I said. She's crazy about you, so don't give up too easily."

Santana nodded, and closed the door behind him, before she joined Brittany on the couch.

"Is everything alright?" Brittany asked when she noticed a look of apprehension coming from Santana.

"Um…" Santana stalled, trying to think of a way to approach the subject.

"Santana, what happened?" Brittany tried again. She wasn't sure if she should be nervous or not.

Santana took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she continued. "Brittany, can I ask you a question?"

Brittany nodded with a forced smile. Now she felt nervous, because usually when someone asked that, it was followed with something uncomfortable or negative. "Sure. You can ask me anything."

"I know this is going to sound blunt and out of the blue, but how do you feel about me and us dating?"

Brittany raised her eyebrows in surprise because she wasn't expecting that question, but she thought that the answer was obvious. She was usually an open book.

"I-I really like you. I don't think I've ever felt this way about anyone so quickly and I'm really glad that we met, because I love being around you and getting to know you better."

Santana nodded. "I feel exactly the same way." She confessed. She almost confessed that her feelings might run deeper, but she didn't want to rush it, and she wanted to give herself some time to think about how she was really feeling, because she wanted to be absolutely sure when she told Brittany that she loved her. She wanted it to mean something and she didn't want to fumble though it.

"Well, that's a relief!" Brittany joked, trying to lighten the mood, even though she was unsure as to why it felt so thick.

Santana chuckled lightly, taking Brittany's hands into her own. "I've been thinking, and I want to change our status from dating to girlfriends, but before we go any further, I need you to see something and then tell me where you stand, because I want what you want Britt, and no matter what you decide, I'll do whatever I can to make sure you're happy."

"O-kay…" Brittany said, noticeably nervous.

Santana sighed again before she let go of Brittany's hands and handed her the paper. When she heard Brittany gasp and saw her eyes go wide, she looked down because she wasn't sure if she could handle watching anymore.

Brittany quickly found the article and just took it all in. She didn't know what to think. She had never had her privacy invaded like this, and while it didn't make it right, she guessed that this was inevitable because Santana was a well-liked celebrity. Brittany thought back to a few days ago and she realized that she didn't think about this sort of thing when she decided to date Santana. It didn't even cross her mind that this could or would happen; all she was thinking about was how much she liked Santana.

After a few minutes of silence, Santana looked up and studied Brittany face, and what she found was shock and confusion. There was no anger, and most importantly, there was nothing that indicated that Brittany was about to bolt, so she decided to continue their conversation.

"Britt, I'm so sorry this happened. This is all my fault."

"What? How is this your fault?" Brittany asked, turning back to Santana. "You didn't take these pictures."

"Yeah, I know, but I should have realized that it was going to happen and paid more attention to what was going on around me. Having the media and public speculate and scrutinize your life isn't easy. It's unsettling at best and scary at worst, and I don't want you to have to suffer because of me."

"Santana, this isn't your fault. This is the product of someone who wanted to make some easy money, regardless of how you and I feel about this."

"I know, but if you stay with me, this isn't going to be the last time that we're going to end up in one of these magazines."

Brittany was quiet for a moment, it was only a few seconds, but they were some of the most excruciating seconds of Santana's life, because in those few seconds, she had no idea how this was going to turn out for her.

"I know that, but even if we did break it off, I might still have to deal with it on my own one day. I was just cast as one of the leads in a Broadway show and one day I hope to do other projects, so the potential for me to end up in one of those magazines is still there, and I would much rather be with you than without you."

Santana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Prior to this moment, she was expecting Brittany to freak out and end it with her. She was expecting anger, and yelling, and tears and it threw her for a loop when none of that came.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Santana said, shaking her head to clear it. "You're okay with this?" She wasn't sure if she was following correctly.

Brittany let out a short laugh. "No, I'm not okay with this. This was a personal and beautiful moment for us, and someone took advantage of that. I'm not happy about it, but I not going break things off with you over it. I want to be with you and if this is part of the package, then you and I can deal with it together because I can tell you're not happy about it either."

Santana let out a sigh. "Your right, I not happy about it. Over the past couple of years, it's gotten a little easier to handle this kind of thing, especially if it's something positive or trivial, but when I opened that magazine earlier and saw three pages of pictures, I was so afraid that you would be hurt and I was mad at myself for being the cause of that hurt."

"Santana," Brittany started to say and took Santana's hands into her own, "I don't blame you for this; this isn't your fault-"

"But it is!" Santana insisted, cutting her off. "I should have been more-" Brittany didn't let her finish.

"Santana, stop it!" Brittany pleaded and brought Santana's hands up to her lips and kissed her knuckles softly. "Please stop." She said, her voice cracking. She cupped Santana's cheek with one of her hands. "There's nothing that you could've done about that. The world is full of assholes, and we just happened to run across one last night. I don't regret being so open and close with you, because I wanted to be close to you, and if I had to do it all again, knowing that this was going to happen, I wouldn't change a thing, because I never want to hide my feelings for you."

Santana felt her heart flutter and she was welling with emotion that she thought she might start crying at any moment. "I don't want to hide either." She said in a small voice.

"Okay, so let's just be you and me, together." Brittany said with a smile and then leaned in to give Santana a soft, but reassuring kiss that caused Santana's anxiety to deflate as the seconds ticked by.

When the kiss ended, Santana opened her eyes and smiled for the first time. "So does this mean that you want to be my girlfriend?"

Brittany smile widened. "Yes." She whispered.

Santana felt her heart leap in her chest at Brittany's acceptance. This time, Santana was the one who leaned in for a kiss. It started out sweet, but it lingered longer than they intended, and as they continued to kiss, it became more passionate. Brittany leaned Santana back so they were lying on the couch and pushed her hand under Santana's shirt, running it over her taut abs, and the curve of her waist, because she was craving the feel of Santana's skin against her own. The feel of Brittany's hand on her bare skin sent a surge of want and confidence through Santana, and she ran her hand down Brittany's back and over the swell of her ass. Once there, she squeezed, causing Brittany to moan and press into her further.

When they finally parted, after a few minutes of heated kissing, they were breathing heavily, causing their chests to heave together.

"Has anyone ever told you that your ass is perfect?" Santana joked, giving it another squeeze.

Brittany giggled. "Maybe. Has anyone ever told you that you have the softest most touchable skin?"

Santana smiled, and leaned up a bit, taking Brittany's bottom lip between her own for another kiss.

"You know, if we lay here much longer, you sister is going to wake up and find us in a very compromising position." Santana reluctantly joked when they parted. On top of the possibility of Rachel walking in on them kissing again, they were running out of time. Kurt would be there to pick her up in a little over an hour and she still needed to get ready.

Brittany giggled and sat up, pulling Santana with her. "Fine, but just so you know; I was really enjoying that. My girlfriend has the sweetest lady kisses."

Santana smiled. "Mine too. Maybe I could talk her into giving me some more when we're alone."

"Oh, I think that could be arranged."

They smiled and looked at each other for a few moments before Santana briefly broke eye contact. She saw the cover of the gossip magazine with her and Brittany on the front. Her smile wavered.

"Britt, how do you think Rachel is going to react to this?" She asked, pointing to the paper. "Or your parents?"

"I don't know. I think they'll be concerned about the attention it's going to bring and the possible safety issue that it poses, but I don't think they'll freak out about it."

"Do your Dads know we're dating?" Santana asked. She knew that Brittany had told them that they were sharing a hotel room, but she didn't know how much Brittany had told them.

Brittany smiled. "Yes. I told them when I was on the phone with them at Shelby's house."

Santana smiled, and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really? We had only been dating about four hours at that point."

Brittany chuckled. "I didn't see a reason not to tell them. I was happy and I wanted them to know. Why does that surprise you?"

"I don't know, I guess I never had anyone ever be that excited about dating me that they told their parents that quickly."

"How long did you wait to tell Kurt?"

Santana took a moment to think about it. "Um, about eight hours. I talked to him on the phone when you were at Shelby's."

"See, you did wait long either." Brittany said with a happy smile.

Santana smiled back shyly. "Actually, I almost beat you, because I almost told Quinn on the way back to the hotel from lunch that day."

"Why didn't you?"

"I called her to check up on Max, but before I got a chance to tell her about you, she had to go because she got another call that she said she needed to take. I haven't talked to her since then."

"So she doesn't know about me?" Brittany fake pouted.

"I'm sure I'll be getting a phone call from her in a few hours so she can interrogate me. She's going to see that magazine or whatever they have online and she'll be all over me to tell her."

Brittany chuckled. "Do you think she'll like me?"

"Of course." Santana said leaning in to give Brittany a quick peck on the lips. "I can't imagine anyone not liking you."

"I am pretty awesome." Brittany joked with a cheeky grin on her face.

Santana laughed. She could tell that Brittany was just playing around, but she wasn't going to disagree with her, because she spoke the truth. "Yes, yes you are."

Brittany leaned for another kiss, and they lost themselves in each other again. Santana smiled into the kiss and was closing what little distance they had between their bodies when they were interrupted by a surprised gasp.

"Seriously? You two are like a pair of horny teenagers!" Rachel huffed. She had accidently walked in on them kissing again. Santana was just glad she didn't walk in on them when they were lying on the couch and Brittany had her hand up her shirt. That would have provided for an awkward moment. "Brittany, it's like we're in high school again."

Brittany giggled. "Well if you would learn to knock before you entered a room, you wouldn't have walked in on me all the time."

"You were in the Oscar Room every time! It's a communal area of the house, it's not as if I barged into your bedroom, and don't even get me started on that. I swear I heard more stuff through our shared wall than I ever wanted to hear." Rachel huffed and shuddered at the memories.

"You're just jealous that I got more action than you did." Brittany said playfully.

Rachel was going to protest, but she knew Brittany was right. She had been jealous of Brittany's popularity in high school, especially when it came to boys, but even though Brittany was popular, she never left her out, which was something Rachel was grateful for. "Whatever." She grumbled and sat down in an open chair.

Brittany chuckled and looked at Santana who had an inquisitive look on her face after the amusing exchange between the two sisters.

"What're you thinking about?" Brittany asked.

"Umm, I know that this is probably going to be the strangest thing that I could've taken out of that little sibling moment…but what the hell is an Oscar Room?"

"Our dads converted the basement into an entertainment room." Rachel chirped. "They have a huge Oscar party there every year and they even built a stage for us to give impromptu performances for our guests and neighbors. Brittany and I used it quite a lot growing up, although, I must admit she used the room for more than performing when our parents were out."

"Oh, I was performing alright." Brittany joked.

Rachel rolled her eyes at the comment, and Santana just smirked. _"Wanky."_

"Okay, enough of memory lane." Rachel said. "Brittany, do you want to gather your laundry, and when Blaine arrives we can go over to my place. You can shower there if you want."

"Yeah, sure." Brittany answered and then looked to Santana. She noticed that Santana was eyeing the magazine nervously. Brittany decided to go ahead and get this part over with, because she was sure that she was going to get a phone call from her parents soon. "Um Rachel, before we leave, have a look at this."

"Okay, what is it?" Rachel asked, taking the paper from Brittany's hand. Her reaction was similar to Brittany's. She didn't curse; she just gasped and went wide-eyed.

"This is- it's crazy. How did they get so many pictures?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know, but somebody was taking pictures the whole night." Brittany answered.

"I don't even know what to say about this. I haven't seen anything like this happen at Callbacks the whole time I went to NYADA."

"Maybe there hasn't been anyone as popular as Santana in there before." Brittany stated the obvious.

"I don't think it was just me, it was you too. They were more interested in you than me." Santana said. She hated that that was true, but it was.

"Yeah but if I wasn't with you, then nobody would've wanted my picture."

"Hey, they could have wanted it if you were with me!" Rachel huffed, semi-offended. She realized that that probably sounded ridiculous, but her pride was wounded.

Santana just shook her head at that comment. "Sure, Rach." Brittany offered half-heartedly. She didn't want to hurt Rachel's feelings, but the reason there were some many pictures was because they wanted her and Santana. "So, what do you think?" She asked Rachel.

"Um, it's kinda sad that this happened so quickly, but I guess the best thing to do is to just be careful and more aware of your surroundings. You might have people follow you around until the hype dies down."

Brittany looked at Santana, because she hadn't thought of that. "Do you think that'll happen?"

"It's possible Britt. It's a little nerve wracking having strangers follow you around, taking pictures of you grocery shopping or whatever, but I'll do my best to protect you from that, and if you want, I'll hire you a bodyguard."

Brittany laughed. She thought that was a bit of an overreaction. "A bodyguard? Do you have one?"

"Not usually, I only hire security when I'm on tour, or if I'm going to an event with large crowds, but I just want you to be safe."

"I don't think we need to go that far." Brittany said. "Let's just see how it plays out and if it gets bad, we can revisit the topic."

Santana and Rachel nodded, in agreement.

"Okay, but for the next few days while we're here, don't leave the hotel on foot by yourself. If you're alone, take a cab." Santana said.

"Okay." Brittany agreed.

-()-()-()-()-

"So how'd it go with Brittany after I left this morning?" Kurt asked Santana in the cab. They were on their way to the realtor's office.

"Better than I thought it was going to go. She didn't freak out. I mean it spooked her a little bit, but she didn't leave me over it. Rachel pretty much reacted the same way, but I'm a little nervous about how her parents are going to take it."

"You think they'll take it badly?" Kurt asked, concerned.

"Britt doesn't think so. Shelby will probably take it better than her dads will, since she is more familiar with it being in the entertainment industry, but her dads are productivity consultants. They don't deal with this stuff often. The few times Rachel was in a magazine, it was just a quick clip of her and it talked about her role in 'Evita,' not three pages of pictures invading her personal life."

"That's true."

"I'm just afraid this is not going to help with them liking me. Let's face it; I already have a lot going against me because practically every girl I've been with in the past four years has been splashed across the gossip magazines. I don't even know why I thought this time would be different."

"Maybe because this time it's different with Brittany." Kurt offered. "She's not craving the spotlight like all those other girls. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if some of those girls called the paparazzi themselves, just so she they could get their faces in the media."

Santana thought about it. "You're probably right, but still, I should've expected something like this happening."

"Maybe, but Santana, you can't beat yourself up over this. If you do, it'll eat away at you and make you paranoid to go out in public, and you can't do that. You can't let them win; we'll all just have to be a little more careful the next time we go out, and it'll eventually calm down."

"I hope you're right." Santana sighed.

They were quiet for a few moments before the silence became too much for Santana. "So how's Blaine doing? He seemed a little nervous earlier when he left with Rachel and Brittany."

"Yeah, he is. He barely ate anything this morning. You know he's done some local theater, nothing as big as Broadway, but I have high hopes for him. He's so talented, he just needs the right person to discover that, and he'll be a huge star someday."

Santana nodded, because she agreed with Kurt. Blaine was insanely talented, just like Brittany, so she was rooting for him as well.

"I hope he gets the part." Santana said.

"I do too. If he does, I think both of us will be temporarily moving to New York."

"You'd move here to be with him?" Santana asked. She knew Blaine and Kurt's relationship was serious, but she didn't know they were ready to move in with each other.

"Well yeah, we've been together for about three months, and we already spend almost every non-working minute together. We practically live together as it is, so I couldn't imagine being away from him for six to eight months. Plus, if you and I find the space we're looking for, one or both of us will need to be here to make sure things get set up the way we want it, so it'll be a win-win for everyone."

"I guess."

"What about you and Brittany?"

"What about us?"

"You're both going to be in New York. Are you going to get separate apartments or do you think you might want to share? I know you just met, but you're already sharing a hotel room and haven't tried to kill each other yet. I think that's a record for you or something." Kurt joked.

"I haven't thought that far ahead." Santana confessed.

"You might want to think about it. You two are on different timetables. You're show is only going to require you to be in New York for what, three to four months? Brittany's probably going to sign a six to eight month contract as well. If the show is successful and not canceled, they might offer to extend her contract; so you two are going to have to decide if you want to do a long distance relationship, where you will have to be the one to fly in to visit, as her show schedule is going to be demanding, or you move here with her."

"Oh, I didn't think about all that." Santana said in a small voice.

"Well it looks like you and Brittany have some talking to do, because I bet you when she comes back from her meeting today, she's going to have a rehearsal schedule that starts in the near future, so you might have to do some decision making soon."

Santana nodded, her mind already buzzing. She hadn't thought about any of what Kurt just said, because she had no idea how theater worked, but he made some valid points. Brittany could be in New York for a while. She had a house in L.A. Did she really want to be away from Brittany for that long? If she moved to New York to be with Brittany, do they get their own apartments separately or do they share one? Was this going to turn into a permanent move or was it only temporary?

"_Crap. Things just got complicated."_ Santana thought. This morning her biggest worry was Brittany's safety with the paparazzi, and if Brittany's dads were going to like her, now she was facing a ton a questions that needed answers and she didn't even know where to start.

-(Six hours later)-

"Let me see the paperwork again for the place on 7th Avenue." Kurt asked Santana.

They were in Santana's suite with paperwork spread out all over the coffee table and floor. They had visited several locations for a new office and store, and they were going to narrow it down to two, and then add them to the small list of places that they planned to see the next day.

"Here you go." Santana said, handing him the paperwork. "I liked that one, but the rent was astronomical."

"It's in the Fashion District, what'd you expect?" Kurt asked. "The one we saw on 5th avenue was just as high."

"I didn't like that one as much. Sure, it's only a block away from Saks, but I agree with you, the one in SoHo is better."

"What about the place on the Upper West Side?" Kurt asked.

"I liked that one, and I think it's better than the one in the West Village. The building just didn't appeal to me."

"Okay so West Village and 5th Avenue are out. We're in agreement with SoHo, so we need to decide between the Upper West Side and the Fashion District."

Santana and Kurt looked over the paperwork again for those two properties.

"You know, I think I'm leaning towards the Upper West Side." Santana said after a few minutes of silent deliberation.

Kurt didn't say anything right away. He took another few moments to think about it. "Yeah, me too."

"That was easier than I thought it would be." Santana said with a smile. She was afraid they might have different opinions and it would take forever to narrow it down to two.

"Thank god!" Kurt agreed. He too was worried that they would be at it all night.

Santana took a sip from her water bottle as she looked at the time. Brittany still wasn't back from her meeting, and she wasn't sure what was going on with Blaine. "Have you heard anything yet?" She asked. She hadn't heard Kurt's phone go off all day, but she guess it might have been on silent.

"He sent me a text when he went into the theater with Rachel, but I haven't gotten anything since. I texted him when we got back to the hotel so I'm just waiting on him to call." Kurt answered. "What about Brittany?"

"She sent me a text a little while ago to say that she was almost done, but she had to go to back to Rachel's apartment to get her laundry."

"I wonder what we should do for dinner." Kurt said. He was starting to get hungry, but he didn't want to eat without Blaine or Brittany.

"I don't know, but-" Santana started to say, but she was interrupted when Brittany walked into the suite.

"Hey guys." She said as she set her bag down. She sounded tired.

"Hey." Santana said, getting up and maneuvering her way past all the paperwork that was on the floor, so she could greet Brittany with a kiss.

Brittany smiled. She liked coming back to that.

"How was your day?" Santana asked as she pulled back from Brittany and they walked over to the couch.

"Busy." Brittany said and flopped down beside Santana. "I didn't realize how much effort went into running a show like this. Rachel tried to tell me, but until I saw it, it didn't really register."

"They do take a lot of time." Kurt said and then his phone vibrated in his pocket. "Oh, let me check this." He pulled the phone out and read the message to himself.

"It's Blaine. He's not sure if he got the part yet, the director seemed to like him, but asked him to stay until after the show. He wants me to meet him downstairs so we can grab something to eat before the show starts. Apparently, Rachel got me a ticket for the show."

"That sounds like fun." Brittany chirped. "You're going to love it. Rachel is so good as Eva."

"Oh, I have no doubt." Kurt commented as he started to pick up the paperwork around him. "Plus, I really was hoping to see her show before we left, so this works out perfectly."

"I guess that leaves you and me to fend for ourselves for dinner." Santana said, turning to Brittany and taking her hand into her own.

"I guess so." She said with a tired, but happy smile.

Santana helped Kurt finish cleaning up their mess. They stuffed all the paperwork into a large folder that Kurt put into a messenger bag.

"Our appointment is at eleven again tomorrow. I'll come by around ten-thirty to get you again." Kurt said to Santana.

"Great. Let us know how it goes with Blaine."

"I will. If it's good news, maybe we can go down to the lounge and get a celebratory drink."

"Yeah, just let us know." Santana said.

"Okay, I'll be talking to you ladies later." Kurt said and then let himself out of the suite.

Brittany leaned further into Santana's side, resting her head on her shoulder, and swung her legs over Santana's legs so Santana was almost cradling her. "I missed you today." Brittany sighed into Santana's neck, the stress of the day melting away.

Santana chuckled and kissed Brittany on top of her head as she ran her hands up and down Brittany's legs. "I missed you too. How're you feeling?"

"Tired. We were introduced to some of the choreography today, since everyone was in town, and we got our rehearsal schedules."

"When's that start?"

"Four weeks from next Monday. We'll rehearse for eight weeks and the show opens on August 18th."

"Sounds like it's going to be a busy schedule." Santana stated. "Were you bothered by any paparazzi while you were out?" She had been worried all day, but she was sure Brittany would've called her if she had had a problem.

"No, I took a cab everywhere I went, so I don't think anyone noticed me, but when I got to the studio, everyone there had already seen the article. A few people even came up to talk to me about it, and the producers are excited about it because they think it will help with promoting the show. They think that if people are really interested in you and me dating, some people who may not have thought about seeing the show before would come just because I'm in it."

Santana sighed, because Brittany was right. The producers were going to use them to get more people to see the show. "Yeah, unfortunately, that's how it works, but the one good thing about that is that you can now negotiate for a better salary since they stand to profit from it."

"Really?" Brittany asked, surprised.

"Before this, you were unknown. Now people know your name, they know your face, so the producers are going to use that to their advantage, and you can too."

"It sounds kinda wrong." Brittany said. She didn't want to use her and Santana's relationship like that.

"Welcome to show business." Santana said dryly. "This part of it isn't fun, but its part of the package. The producers will use anything they can to promote this show, and they're going to use you're new popularity to do that, so you might as well get paid for it."

"Oh." Brittany said quietly and pressed a little further into Santana. She wasn't aware of all that. She felt so naïve thinking that she was just going to get up on stage and perform her part and her personal life wouldn't play into it. She was starting to realize how wrong she was.

"Are you okay with them using us like that?" Brittany asked, because she didn't want Santana to feel used.

"I'm not thrilled about it, but sometimes it can work out for the better. It's all how you look at it. If this gets your name out there, and the reviews for your show are positive, it opens you up for more opportunities because instead of you finding work for yourself, people are going to contact you and offer you new projects."

Brittany nodded, because obviously Santana knew more about this than she did, and if it was going to happen anyway, they might as well put a positive spin on it.

"Did you sign your contract yet?" Santana asked, hoping that she hadn't, because if she had, there wasn't any way for Brittany to negotiate a higher salary, and she was not a fan of Brittany not being compensated appropriately.

"No, Rachel told me to send it to her lawyer to have him look it over."

"Good." Santana said with a nod. "Do you remember what your salary was?"

"I think it was about $2000 a week."

"Hmm, did Rachel mention anything about salary levels?"

"Yeah, she said that the minimum was about $1500 a week for a Broadway production, so I guess I'm doing a little better than the minimum.

"Britt, that's probably for a non-lead role. I'm thinking that $2000 a week is low."

"Really? I was thinking it was high. I only make…" Brittany did the math in her head, "$480 a week at the pet store."

Santana chuckled. "Be that as it may, I still think they're low balling you. When do you go back to sign your contract?"

"Tomorrow at nine."

"Okay, since this is her area of expertise, we'll call Rachel before her show and see what she has to say about this, and that'll give you something to negotiate with tomorrow."

"What if they don't like that?" Brittany said, lifting her head off Santana's shoulder for the first time. She was sure that rocking the boat was the quickest way for her to be fired.

"Of course they're not going to like it. They don't want to pay you more money, but they should, and I guarantee that you won't be the only one to negotiate the pay issue. I'm sure the lead, what's-her-name…the girl that went to school with Rachel..."

"Alexandra Blasucci?"

"Yeah, her, I would bet money that she negotiated her pay."

"But she's the lead, and she's been in a couple of other Broadway shows before. People know who she is."

"Yes, and now they know who you are too. I bet at least half of the country knows your name and face, and that's not even counting people in other parts of the world. You're more recognizable than Alexandra."

Brittany thought about it for a moment. Santana might have a point. A very scary point, but a point none-the-less. "I'm not sure if I know how to negotiate. I'm not good with confrontation and I know I'm going to cave if they push it." Brittany said, honestly. It wasn't that she didn't want to stand up for herself, she did, but she was inexperienced in this area, and she was unsure of how to approach it.

"Do you want me to come with you tomorrow?"

"I don't want you to fight my battles." Brittany said in a low voice. She would feel bad having Santana do that.

"I'm not; all of this is new to you, so I'm just going to help you out until you get the hang of it yourself." Santana said, trying to convince Brittany to let her help. "I don't want them to take advantage of you, and you shouldn't want that either. If you want, after tomorrow, we can look into getting you representation…or you can just let me help you out for a while; I promise I'll be much cheaper than a manager. I'd only ask for kisses in return." She said with a sweet smile.

Brittany smiled. "That's not fair because you know my kisses are free when it comes to you."

"See, its win-win for both of us." Santana joked.

"I don't know." Brittany said in a small voice. "I don't want to use you."

"Britt, sweetie, you're not." Santana said and put both arms around Brittany's shoulders. "I'm just helping you learn how it all works. That's what you do when you're in a relationship, you help each other."

Brittany thought about it for a few moments and then nodded. Santana was right. "Okay. You can come tomorrow."

Santana beamed and kissed Brittany on the tip of nose. "Thanks."

Brittany giggled. "I should be thanking you, Silly!"

"Nope, I think it's the other way around." Santana said with a smirk.

Brittany just shook her head in amusement and leaned in to give Santana a lingering kiss on her lips. "I guess I better start repaying my 'manager' now." She joked.

"Oh, you know I'm always up for that." Santana said and leaned in for another kiss.

Brittany peppered soft, sweet kisses over Santana's face before she came back to Santana's lips for a much deeper kiss.

When they parted, Brittany rested her forehead against Santana's. "So how was your day?" She asked. She saw all the papers on the floor and table earlier.

"Busy, but thankfully Kurt and I narrowed down the places we saw today to two. We'll go see them again tomorrow, along with a few other places, and then hopefully we can make a decision tomorrow."

Brittany leaned back to look at Santana. "That's good. Are you sure you'll have time to come with me tomorrow if you have an appointment at eleven?"

"Yeah, I'll just meet Kurt at the realtor's. "What're your plans tomorrow after you sign your contract?"

"Nothing definite. I was thinking about calling Shelby to see if I could go up to Beth's school and have lunch with her. She told me the other day that Rachel had lunch with her recently, so she really wants me to have lunch with her as well."

"Aww, that sounds like fun." Santana cooed. She was really starting to love Brittany's relationship with Beth. She and Brittany had discussed it a little bit over the past few days, and she could see how much Brittany loved her little sister.

"Yeah. I hope I can go tomorrow."

"Did you talk to Shelby or your dads yet?" Santana asked concerned.

"Yeah and don't worry, they don't hate you. They were a little surprised about how large the article was, and worried about what we were doing for safety, but they liked your plan so as long as things don't escalate, they're okay with the situation."

"Okay good." Santana sighed in relief.

"Did you talk to Quinn?" Brittany asked. She was worried about what Santana's oldest friend thought about her.

"Talk isn't the word that I would use to describe what we did today. She practically gave me the third degree. I had to put Kurt on the phone to confirm how awesome you are, because she never believes me when I tell her stuff."

"She didn't believe you?" Brittany asked, chuckling.

"No, she was afraid that you were like the other girls and that I was just too stupid to see it, but once Kurt told her how great you are, she changed her tone and she's dying to meet you when we get home."

"So no pressure, huh?" Brittany said, joking.

"Maybe a little, she's an executive at a marketing firm, and she had to claw her way to the top, so she can be intense at times, but I know she's going to love you, just like Kurt and Blaine, so I wouldn't worry about it. She's all bark and no bite."

"Okay." Brittany said with a small smile.

"I talked to my publicist today too, and I confirmed that you're my girlfriend, and that I didn't want to release a comment about the details of our relationship and that it was a private matter, so if anyone contacts her, she'll confirm the rumor, but she won't release any other information."

"Okay."

"So enough about all that. What do you want to do about dinner?" Santana asked.

"Umm…" Brittany started, "Do you mind if we stay in, I'm kinda tired."

"Sure. I'll go get the room service menu." Santana said and Brittany moved her legs to let her up.

"I'm going to take a quick shower. I'm sure I probably smell like sweat." Brittany said, blushing, suddenly aware of how close she had been to Santana without a shower.

"No, you smelled sweet." Santana said, and she meant it. Whatever natural scent Brittany had going on mixed with her perfume was enough to send Santana's head spinning.

"You sweet talker!" Brittany counted with an eye roll and a smile. "Can you order me a club sandwich?"

"Sure. What do you want to drink?"

"Just a bottle of water is fine."

"You got it." Santana said with a smile and went over to the room phone to place their order.

-(A few hours later)-

Santana's phone chimed taking her out of a light sleep. After dinner, she and Brittany changed into clothing that was more comfortable and cuddled in front of the bedroom T.V. to waste time while they waited for Kurt to call. They settled on a rom-com but Brittany didn't make it thirty minutes. She was so tired, and her place curled into Santana's side, and her head on her shoulder, was too comfortable for her to stay awake. Santana watched T.V. for a little while longer, but she too fell asleep.

She looked at her phone and saw a message from Kurt, so she guessed the show must be over.

**From Kurt Hummel 11:05 PM: **_Blaine got the Part! We're having a drink at the Broadway Lounge in twenty minutes with Rachel and Jesse!_

Santana smiled because she was happy that Blaine got the part, but she didn't want to wake Brittany, and as much as she wanted to celebrate with Blaine, she didn't want to leave Brittany alone.

**To Kurt Hummel 11:06 PM:** _That's great! So happy for him, but can we take a rain check? Brittany fell asleep a little while ago and I don't want to wake her or leave her alone._

Santana reached over for the remote and turned off the T.V. while she waited for Kurt's response.

**From Kurt Hummel 11:10 PM:** _Sure, Blaine says stay in bed and we'll get together, maybe tomorrow night? See you in the morning._

Santana forgot to tell Kurt that she was going with Brittany in the morning and that she needed to meet him at the realtor's office. She fired off a quick text to let him know what was going on. They had talked to Rachel briefly while they waited for their food to be brought to their room, and she told them what she thought a fair salary for Brittany was, so Santana had a good idea what she wanted to say tomorrow on Brittany's behalf.

Once Kurt responded to her message and told her that he'd see her at the office, she set an alarm on her phone. She carefully rolled Brittany over so she could lie on her side. As she laid pressed into Brittany's back and her chin on Brittany's shoulder, Kurt's words from earlier came back to her, and she realized that she liked sleeping next to Brittany. She was sure that she didn't want to spend several months apart from Brittany, where they only saw each other every couple of weeks. So, Santana decided that she would talk to Brittany soon to discuss their possible living situations when they make their move to New York.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N**: As always, a great big thank you to everyone who is reading this story and to **Stalpankaka **for her help! If you get a chance, please let me know what's on your mind, because it can only help me make the story better :-)

Have a good weekend, everyone!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Brittany asked again. She was sitting on the edge of the bed watching Santana put her makeup on.

"Yes, Britt." Santana said with a smile. "Unless you don't want me to."

"I just don't want you to think that I'm using-"

"If you say that you're using me again, I might have to slap someone, and I'm sure the next person I come across is not going to appreciate me slapping them."

Brittany laughed. She thought it was cute how Santana didn't want to slap her, but someone else. "I'm sure that wouldn't go over very well."

"Yeah, so please stop saying that you're using me. I offered to help you, there's a big difference, and I'm sure if I was in a situation where I needed help or guidance, you'd be the first one there."

Brittany nodded. "That's true. I'd do anything to help you."

"See, this is the same thing. I would do anything to help you too, so please just let me without worrying about it."

Brittany smiled and walked over to the bathroom door. "Okay, fine you win, but I'm going to find a way to make this up to you."

Santana returned the smile. "I thought we already discussed this, and I collected last night _and_ this morning." Making out with Brittany was her new favorite hobby, and it was one that she was sure that she would never tire of.

"Yeah, well that was only part of it. I'll think of something to thank you properly." Brittany said with a suggestive smirk.

Santana felt a quiver go up her spine. She wasn't sure what Brittany was going to come up with, but she was sure that whatever it was, it was going to be enjoyable. "O-okay." She stuttered.

Brittany smirk quickly morphed into a sweet smile again. "Awesome." She chirped. "Well, I'm going to go into the living room and call Shelby while you're finishing up."

Santana nodded her head, "Yeah, okay." She mumbled. She was actually glad that Brittany gave her a few minutes alone, because she was certainly distracted by Brittany presence, and had they stood there any longer talking about 'proper thank-yous,' she was sure that she would have moved in for another kiss, possibly making them late for Brittany's appointment.

-()-()-()-()-

"I seriously can't believe that just happened." Brittany said, bewildered, as she and Santana stepped into the elevator after leaving the producer's office.

"What can't you believe?" Santana asked with a curious smile.

"You just increased my salary by $800 a week! I-I don't even know what to think about that. That's like five times more than I make now!" Brittany's head was spinning. She didn't even know what to do with that kind of money.

Santana chuckled.

"You just went in there and took control. I don't think they expected that at all." Brittany said, still impressed.

"I kept it real and made sure they didn't play any games." Santana said smugly. "I don't mess around when it comes to something I want."

"Well, thank you, I don't think I could've done that."

"Britt, you're still new at this, you'll figure it all out, and when you do, I hope I'm there to see it because I can't wait to see you own it."

Brittany just gave Santana a wide smile and gave her a quick peck on the lips. She loved how much confidence Santana had in her that she didn't always have in herself. It was definitely giving her a push in the right direction.

Santana smiled and then took Brittany's hand into her own. When the elevator reached the ground floor, they exited and went out onto the street.

"We have about twenty minutes before I have to leave to meet Kurt, do you wanna get a coffee with me?" Santana asked and pointed to a café across the street.

"Sure. But I'm paying." Brittany said with a determined smile.

Santana was going to protest, but the look on Brittany's face told her that she shouldn't. "I'd love for you to buy me a coffee."

They went into the coffee shop and stood in the small line. When it was their turn, the barista didn't look up and just asked for their order. Santana ordered a regular medium roast coffee and Brittany ordered an iced coffee. When the young Barista asked for their names to write on the cups, Brittany answered and the barista's eyes widened at the combination of 'Santana and Brittany.' She looked up from the cup that she was writing on and took in the couple before her.

"Holy crap!" The barista breathed in a low voice, obviously surprised by the two women in front of her. "I mean, um, that will be $6.84." She blushed.

Brittany smiled at her and handed over a ten-dollar bill. It was obvious to Santana that the barista was trying to contain her excitement, and she appreciated that, so she smiled at her as well.

The barista gathered their change and her hand shook a little as she held it out for Brittany to take.

"Thanks…" Brittany looked at the barista's nametag, "Nikki," and put the change in the tip jar that was beside the register.

"Um, thank you." Nikki said back with a little smile.

It took about two minutes for their coffee to be given to them. They added the desired cream and sugar at the bar and then they headed towards the exit. When they were walking out the door, Brittany turned to look back at Nikki, and noticed that she was doing her best not to look over at them, but it was obvious that she was stealing glances.

"Does that happen to you a lot?" Brittany asked as they walked up the street holding hands.

Santana chuckled. "Yeah, sometimes, if I'm recognized. At home it's not so bad because there are a lot of celebrities around the L.A. area, so people aren't as star struck when one comes in the store, but it still happens."

"I guess that's something that I'm going to have to get used to."

"You never really get totally used to it, because sometimes it can be a bit much, but it does get easier to handle, especially if they act like that girl. She didn't get loud or draw attention to us, but unfortunately that's not always the case."

"So how do you manage it?" Brittany asked.

"I tend to re-visit the same places over and over again. If you become a regular, nobody bats an eye after a while. It's not exciting that I'm in the store, because I'll probably be in a few days later anyways."

"Oh, that's a good idea."

"When I go somewhere new, if I'm recognized, I just roll with it if the person is polite. Most of the time, they're just excited to meet me, so if I'm not in a hurry I'll take a picture with them or sign an autograph. I don't mind meeting my fans, it's usually pretty fun, and they're the reason I've gotten so far."

"Well that's sweet of you." Brittany said.

"My fans aren't really an issue, most of them are great, every once in a while I get one that's overly pushy, but it doesn't happen often. The paparazzi are more of a hassle, so I'd be more worried about them than your fans, but make sure you're still cautious around them, because you never know when one of them will get fanatical."

Brittany nodded. "Thanks for the advice."

Santana smiled and then changed the subject. "So what time are you having lunch with Beth?"

"Eleven forty-five. Shelby gave me the address to the school; she said it's on the Upper East Side, wherever that is. She's going to call the office and let them know that I'm coming, so they let me in. Beth doesn't know that I'm coming; she's going to be really excited to see me."

"I'm sure that would be a sight to see. Um, I'm headed in the same direction as you; do you wanna share a cab?" Santana offered.

"Duh." Brittany laughed and gave Santana's hand a squeeze.

-()-()-()-()-

Kurt and Santana were walking around the property in the Upper West Side that they had looked at the previous day. It was a decent size and it wasn't far from Columbia University, which meant that it was a good location for them to reach their target age group.

"I was thinking if we choose this place, we can convert a portion of the upstairs area into an office area, and then we can put the formal wear in the remaining space, and then the whole downstairs area can be for the rest of the collection. Men on the left and women on the right as you walk in." Kurt rambled on.

Santana tried to picture what he was proposing. "Okay, but where do you think we should put the shoes…along the back wall maybe?"

"Umm, yeah, that sounds about right." Kurt said, agreeing with her.

Santana was about to ask another question, but her phone vibrated in her purse. She pulled it out and saw that she had a text message from Brittany. It was a picture of Beth sitting on Brittany's lap in the school's cafeteria and the caption read: _"She's so excited!"_

Santana smiled at the picture. Beth had the biggest smile on her face and Brittany's almost mirrored it.

"What are you smiling at over there?" Kurt asked as he moved closer to her and looked at the picture on Santana phone. "Cute kid. Who's she belong to?"

"Shelby. That's Beth."

"Really?" Kurt asked and took a closer look at her. "She doesn't look anything like Shelby."

"She's adopted, remember?" Santana said. She had told him that a few days ago on the phone when they discussed Brittany for the first time. Prior to this trip, they had both worked with Shelby, but they had not met her daughter, so they just assumed when Shelby mentioned Beth, that she was her biological daughter.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Rachel really looks like Shelby though." Kurt chuckled. "Has Beth been in any commercials or shows?"

"Not that I know of, why?"

"I don't know, she just looks familiar, and I'm trying to place her. I know I haven't met her before, so I was thinking that maybe I recognized her from T.V."

Santana looked at the picture again, and now that Kurt mentioned it, she thought the same thing about Beth looking familiar when she first met her in the French café, but she just thought that it was from pictures that she had seen in Shelby's office.

"I don't know, I'll ask Brittany, she would know." Santana said and sent a return text to Brittany.

A few minutes later a replay came.

**From Brittany Pierce 12:00 PM:** _Yes, we're having a ton of fun, and no, Beth hasn't done any acting work. Tell Kurt that he's probably going crazy or something, haha!"_

Santana showed Kurt the text. "She's right, you know. You are a little crazy." She joked.

Kurt just glared at Santana sideways. "Whatever. If I'm crazy, it's from having to put up with you all the time."

Santana laughed. "Are you kidding me, I keep you sane."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Okay, who's the crazy one now?"

-()-()-()-()-

"So are you absolutely sure you like the place on the Upper West Side the best?" Kurt asked Santana as they sat alone in their Realtor's office discussing which property they wanted to rent.

"Yeah, I do. I think it's in a good location and it has the most space to work with. What about you?" She asked. As much as she liked to get her own way, this decision had to be made between the two of them.

"I like it, and I think it has great potential, but I still like the one in SoHo is the best."

"Why?"

"Because the area is full of trendy boutiques, we'd fit right in there."

"I don't even know why we bothered to see any new places today if we were just going to go back and forth between the two places we picked last night." Santana said and she picked up the SoHo paperwork again to look it over for what felt like the millionth time.

Kurt nodded as he looked over the Upper West Side paperwork again.

They were silent for a few minutes, thinking to themselves on how they were going to come to a decision.

"Okay, I have an idea on how to settle this." Santana finally said, sitting up in her seat.

"Oh, I'm dying to hear this one." Kurt said with slight sarcasm.

"Can we both agree that either one of these properties will work. It doesn't matter which one we choose because they're both in good locations and in proximity to our target customers?"

Kurt thought about it for a few moments and then nodded. "Yes, I would agree with that."

"Okay so I think what we really need to think about is how convenient we want this to be for us. We're both going to move to New York in the next few months, granted it will probably be a temporary move, but still, we're both going to be here for a while, so maybe we should think about where we want to live."

"That's your plan?" Kurt asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Hear me out. Brittany and Blaine are going to be working in the Theater District, I'm going to be filming in Midtown, for the most part anyways, and pretty much everyone that we know in New York, lives north of Times Square; so I'm thinking that we're going to want to live close to all that, so when you think about that, the Upper West Side is the better choice.

Kurt sighed and considered her words for a few minutes. He flipped through the paperwork again for both places, and it was almost as if he was hoping that the answer would be there for him, but sadly, the only thing there was a description of the property, a few pictures of the space and the monthly rent.

"So?" Santana eventually asked. She was hoping they could come to a decision tonight so they could start the process of securing the property. She could only imagine their annoyance if someone rented the space that they finally agreed on before they could.

"I think…based on your argument that either space is acceptable and that we want to live close to where we'll be spending most of our time…that you're right. Let's go with the place on the Upper West Side."

Santana smiled and gave an internal sigh of relief. "Are you absolutely sure?" She asked, because she didn't want any buyer's remorse in the future.

"Yeah, I'm happy with it."

"Great!"

"I'll go get Brian and let him know that we've come to a decision." Kurt said, standing up.

When he left the room, Santana decided to check her phone while she had a few minutes to spare, because she remembered her phone vibrating about thirty minutes ago.

**From Brittany Pierce 4:01 PM:** _Hey, not sure if you made any plans for tonight, but Shelby asked if we wanted to have dinner with her and Beth at her place? Lemme know what you think."_

Santana smiled at the request. She hadn't made any definite plans, only that they might meet up with Blaine later for a drink to celebrate his new job, and they could still do that after dinner, so she decided to check with Kurt and make sure that was okay before she responded to Brittany.

A few seconds later Kurt returned. "He'll be here in a few minutes, he's making copies."

"Okay. Um, Brittany sent me a text a little bit ago and said that Shelby invited us over for dinner tonight. I know we said we'd meet up with Blaine later to have a drink with him, but do you think we could do that after dinner?"

"Oh yeah, that won't be a problem. He's actually going to be at the theater again tonight. The director wanted him to watch the show a couple of times, so he was at the matinée this afternoon and then again tonight, so he won't even be available until after ten-thirty."

"Okay, cool. So what're you going to do since we all have plans?" Santana asked. She thought about asking Kurt if he wanted to join her and Brittany, but she didn't want to invite someone over to Shelby's house without permission.

"I'll probably meet Blaine for dinner again, and then go up to my room and do some work until he's done."

"I guess I'll just call you after we leave Shelby's."

"Sounds good." Kurt said and then smirked. "Sooo…you're having dinner with Brittany's family, how's that make you feel; maybe a little domesticated?" He teased.

Santana chuckled. Usually jokes like that from Kurt would piss her off, but this time it didn't; she was happy to spend time with Brittany's family. "I guess. It feels kinda good actually."

Kurt's playful smirk turned into a genuinely happy smile at that answer. "I think there's hope for you yet, Santana."

Santana playfully pushed him in the shoulder. "Whatever."

-()-()-()-()-

Santana stood outside Shelby's door, trying to contain her nerves. She knew that it was silly to be nervous because she knew Shelby, and had eaten several meals with her before, but she couldn't help but to be nervous, because this would be the first time that they spent together in a non-professional or friendly setting. Shelby was a part of Brittany's family and that changed the dynamic of their relationship. They weren't colleagues that were friendly anymore, Shelby was filling a parental role to the woman she was in a relationship with and that was nerve-wracking for her because she didn't want to screw anything up.

After a few minutes of calming her nerves, Santana finally found the strength to knock on the door. She only had to wait a few moments before Shelby opened the door.

"Santana. Hi!" Shelby greeted her and motioned for her to enter the apartment.

"Thanks." Santana said with a smile as she followed Shelby into the foyer and handed her a brown paper bag with two bottles of wine. "I didn't know what we were having, so I just picked out a bottle of Moscoto and a bottle of Cabernet." She knew Moscoto was Brittany's favorite, and she knew that Shelby liked red wine, so she went with both to make sure that everyone was happy.

"Thanks." Shelby said with an appreciative smile as playful chatter could be heard coming from another part of the apartment.

"_Beth, that's cheating, you know that paper beats rock!"_ Brittany said in playful tone.

"_Britt-Britt, how can something as flimsy as paper beat a rock. If I throw a rock at the paper it will put a hole in it."_ Beth laughed. _"So I win. I get the car first."_

Shelby shook her head in amusement at the conversation she heard from the other room. "They've been going at it ever since we got home from school."

"Oh, Brittany's been here for a while then?" Santana asked.

"Actually she came with us when I picked Beth up from school. Apparently, Beth's teacher was happy to have someone come in to visit, and she asked Brittany to volunteer in the class room for the rest of the day."

"That was nice of her." Santana complimented.

"Brittany's always been good with children, so I'm sure she enjoyed herself. I know Beth was happy to have her there because all I heard the whole way home was what she and Brittany did in class together."

Santana chuckled. "Well I'm glad they had fun."

"Beth's room is the second door on the right, why don't you go in and hangout with them for a few minutes. Dinner's almost ready."

"Okay, thanks."

Santana made her way down the hallway and poked her head in Beth's room. A smile appeared on her face when she saw Brittany and Beth chattering away, playing with Barbies.

"Hey." Santana said as she made her presence known.

Brittany and Beth both looked up from what they were doing and a wide smile appeared on Brittany face.

"Hey, Babe." Brittany chirped as she stood up and greeted Santana with a hug and quick kiss.

Santana smiled at the term of endearment. She had never been called 'babe', or any other form of the word before, nor had she used it, but hearing it from Brittany now made her heart melt.

"Hey." Santana cooed. "I missed you today."

"I missed you too. Did you get everything taken care of?"

"Yeah, we finally decided on a place."

"That's great." Brittany said with a smile and then looked down at Beth. "Do you wanna play with us?"

"Sure." Santana said and followed Brittany further into the room.

"Beth, you remember Santana, right?" Brittany asked as she and Santana sat down on the floor.

Beth nodded. She still seemed shy. "She's your girlfriend, isn't she?"

Brittany blushed. "Yeah, she is." She said and took Santana's hand into her own.

Santana smiled. "Is that okay with you?" She asked Beth. She wanted Beth to feel included in their relationship.

Beth smiled and nodded. "Yes. I don't mind."

"Great." Santana's smiled widened. "I hope you and I can become friends."

Beth leaned over into her toy box and pulled out a Barbie for Santana. "Here you go. Mom says that you're a singer. It's Pop Star Barbie."

Santana nodded. "I am a singer, and thank you."

"Are you a singer like Rachel?" Beth asked, cautiously.

Santana chuckled. "Kind of, we sing different types of music, but don't worry; I won't make my Barbie sing like she does."

Beth perked up at that. "Okay!"

Brittany smiled and bumped her shoulder into Santana's. She thought it was sweet that Santana remembered Beth saying that from the other day.

Santana returned the smile and then let go of Brittany's hand. "So what're our Barbies up to today?"

-()-()-()-()-

"Shelby that was delicious." Santana said, patting her full stomach.

"Thanks." Shelby said with a smile. "Meatloaf is one of Beth's favorites." She said and smiled over at her daughter.

"Yep." Beth grinned. "Thanks for making it for me, Mom."

"You're welcome, Baby." Shelby said, still smiling. She then turned her attention to Brittany and Santana. "So what do you two have planned for the rest of your trip?"

Brittany didn't know; she had no plans, other than hanging out with Santana, so she just looked to Santana to answer since she was more familiar with the city than she was.

"Um, I was thinking since neither of us has to work, and since it'll be our last day here, that tomorrow could be a touristy day for us."

"Yeah?" Brittany asked happily. She was in favor of that plan. They had both been busy over the past few days and other than doing some sightseeing on Sunday and going out on Monday night, they hadn't done much around the city.

"Mm-hmm, I was thinking that we could go to the top of the Empire State Building and walk around Central Park, and then after that I'm sure we'll find something to do; there's always something to see in New York."

"Sounds like fun." Shelby said and took a sip of her wine.

"You're leaving soon?" Beth asked with a pout, and looked between Brittany and Santana who were sitting on either side of her.

Brittany looked to Beth and nodded. She had told Beth that she was only visiting, but she hadn't specified how long that visit was going to be. "Yeah, but we'll be back soon." She said, hoping that would cheer Beth up.

"Are you and Santana going to come see me before you go?" She asked with sad green eyes. It hadn't taken long for Beth to warm up to Santana, so she was sad to see her go as well.

Brittany's heart clinched from how sad Beth looked, she wanted to tell her 'yes,' but she didn't want to speak for Santana. She looked up at her girlfriend and they had another silent conversation where Santana smiled and then spoke before Brittany could.

"Of course we will." She said with a smile, putting a soothing hand on Beth's arm.

The promise to visit helped, but Beth still looked sad with the idea of them leaving. The three adults at the table all frowned at how sad the little girl looked.

"Beth," Shelby started to say, "Why don't you and Brittany go into the living room and play in there while Santana and I clear the dishes and get dessert ready."

"Okay." Beth moped and got out of her seat slowly.

"Hey Beth, you know what?" Brittany said.

"What?"

"Santana hasn't seen 'Tangled' yet." Brittany said knowing that suggesting to watch Beth's favorite movie would perk her up. "Why don't we go set it up and we can watch it while we have dessert."

"Okay!" Beth said with more excitement this time and ran towards the living room.

Brittany turned to Shelby and Santana with a smile and shrugged. "Well that worked." She said and then followed Beth out of the room.

Shelby and Santana chuckled at the scene.

"You don't have to help clear the dishes." Shelby said, stacking plates. "I just said that so I had an excuse to talk to you alone for a minute."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind helping." Santana said, picking up the plates with leftovers. "What'd you want to talk about?" She hoped she hadn't done anything wrong.

"I know that you and Brittany are going sightseeing tomorrow, and I didn't want to say anything in front of Beth or Brittany, but since you didn't mention having plans for tomorrow night, I was wondering if you'd like to go see 'The Lion King'? Brittany has always wanted to see that show, and Beth's been asking me to go see it again, so I was wondering if we could all go tomorrow night. It would mean a lot to them to go together, and it'll help perk Beth up about you guys leaving, but if you don't want to do it, we can do it another time."

"Yeah, that sounds great." Santana said with a smile. She knew how much Brittany would like that, because when they passed the theater the other day, Brittany mentioned that she loved the movie and would like to see the show sometime.

"Maybe we can get dinner too?" Shelby asked as she set the dishes into the sink.

"Sure." Santana nodded. She was looking forward to it now.

"Great. Well, let's finish here and then go watch the movie with our girls."

Santana felt her heart flutter and heat rush to her cheeks at that comment. She felt accepted by Shelby and it really made her happy that Brittany's family was including her in their lives.

-()-()-()-()-

"I can't wait for tomorrow!" Brittany chirped. "It's going to be so much fun!"

They were in a cab on their way back to the hotel. Shelby and Santana had told Brittany and Beth of their plans right before Santana and Brittany left and Brittany was still processing her excitement.

Santana chuckled. "I hope so."

"Can we have a picnic in the park tomorrow? I've always wanted to do that." Brittany asked, her eyes pleading with Santana to say 'yes.'

Santana gave an amused nod. "Sure, anything you want."

"You're so sweet." Brittany cooed and leaned in for a kiss.

Santana smiled into the sweet kiss. When they parted, Santana brought Brittany's hand up to her lips and kissed it. "I can't wait to spend the whole day with you tomorrow." They hadn't had a whole day together since Sunday.

"Me too." Brittany said and curled further into Santana's side, resting her head on her shoulder.

They were silent for a few moments before Brittany spoke again. "I loved watching you and Beth play together tonight. She told me when we were getting the movie ready that she really likes you."

Santana smiled. "I like her too, she's a great kid, and I think I gained some serious 'Beth points' when I told her that Rapunzel is my new favorite princess."

Brittany laughed. "You better keep it that way if you want to stay in her good books. She's still upset with me when I tried to tell her that Aurora is the best princess."

Santana couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind."

The rest of the cab ride went quickly. Santana paid the driver and they exited the car. As they were walking into the hotel, they heard their names called behind them and when they turned, flashes from cameras blinded them.

"Shit." Santana cursed under her breath and tightened her grip on Brittany's hand before they hurried through the door of the hotel. The door attendant stopped the cameras from following them.

"I'm sorry." Santana said.

"How did they find us?" Brittany asked.

"There's no telling Britt. Anyone could have seen us leave the hotel today and called them."

"Do you think maybe one of the hotel staff did it?"

"Probably not, I mean we've been here almost a week and this is the first time that we've seen any photographers at the hotel."

"Yeah, okay." Brittany nodded agreeing with Santana's logic. Had it been one of the hotel staff, this would have happened a lot sooner.

They quickly made their way to the elevator. While they were on the ride up, Brittany's eyebrows scrunched together when a thought came to mind. "Hey, we're having drinks tonight with everyone, right?"

"Yeah?" Santana answered, quirking her eyebrow. It was a question instead of a statement, because of the tone that Brittany used when she asked her question. Brittany knew they were meeting up with their friends, so she was curious as to why she would ask that question.

"Do you think any of the photographers will be waiting for us in the lounge, hoping that we'll show up?"

Santana thought about it and sighed, "Yeah, you're probably right."

The elevator opened and they walked the short distance to their suite. They removed their jackets and shoes and sat together on the couch.

"San, I want to hang out with everyone tonight, but after yesterday, I'm really not in the mood to have people take pictures of you and me. Do you think we could ask everyone to meet us here and we have a few drinks in the room?"

Santana nodded. She knew if they skipped going to the lounge to miss whatever photographers that might have snuck in, the ones outside would follow them if they left to go somewhere else, and then they also had to worry about the people that were in the bar, because yesterday's pictures were more than likely not from the paparazzi.

"Sure Britt." Santana said and kissed her temple.

"I know we can't avoid them all the time and I don't want to become reclusive. I like going places with you, but I just don't want to deal with it tonight."

"It's fine." Santana assured her and squeezed her hand. "I like you're idea, because I don't want to deal with it either."

"Okay, thanks."

"I'm going to call Kurt and let him know the new plan. Can you text Rachel and let her know."

"Okay." Brittany pulled out her phone and started typing.

-()-()-()-()-

"We should have a hotel party." Kurt said as they waited for the rest of their friends to show up.

"Like rock stars?" Brittany joked.

"Well, I wasn't thinking about trashing the room, but we should have them stop by a liquor store and get some stuff and then just have some drinks and socialize for the rest of the night."

"Yes." Santana exclaimed, pointing to Kurt. She liked that idea. It also meant that she could be cuddly with Brittany, and have as much to drink as she wanted without having to look over her shoulder every minute for someone with a camera.

"I'll text Blaine." Kurt said.

About thirty minutes later, Rachel, Blaine, and Jesse showed up holding several full bags. Santana pointed them towards the kitchenette area. She had already called for room service to bring up some extra glasses and ice, so they were ready.

"Who's going to play bartender." Jesse asked as he emptied his bag.

"Probably me." Blaine said. "I was a bartender for a little while in college."

"I'll help you." Santana offered because she was pretty good at mixing drinks as well.

Once everyone had a drink, Santana went into the bedroom, got her mp3 player, and plugged it in so there was some music on in the background.

"Okay everyone, I know we kinda did this a couple of times this week already, but before we get this party started, let's have a drink to celebrate Blaine, Brittany and Santana's new jobs!" Kurt said and raised his glass.

Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together, yelling 'Cheers' in unison.

-()-()-()-()-

At some point during the night, their little social gathering had turned into a dance party. Santana watched Brittany and Blaine freestyle dance for a little while as she mixed herself and Jesse another drink. After a brief conversation with him, Brittany interrupted and dragged Santana into the middle of the room to dance with her. Santana knew she could dance, but Brittany was by far the better dancer, so she just let her lead.

It didn't take long for the others to join them on the makeshift dance floor. The fast songs were a lot of fun because they took turns dancing with each other, but when the slower, more sensual songs shuffled on, they coupled off, even Rachel and Jesse.

"Are you sure nothing's going on with them?" Santana asked again. Not that she was that concerned about it, but the way Rachel and Jesse were dancing together made it seem like there could be more to their relationship than just friendship.

"As far as I know, they're just friends, but they're very close, so they may just be comfortable with each other." Brittany whispered in Santana's ear before she kissed her behind her ear.

That sent a quiver down Santana spine. Brittany kissed her neck and then slowly turned Santana around, holding her so that her back was pressed into her front. They swayed to the music and Brittany pressed a few soft kisses to shell of Santana ear.

"You're so beautiful and sweet. I'm so glad you're my girlfriend." She whispered before she took Santana's earlobe between her lips.

Santana's breath hitched and she tightened her grip on Brittany's hands that were wrapped around her hips. When Brittany released her hold on her ear, she turned in Brittany's arms and faced her. "Me too." She breathed out and placed several soft kisses to Brittany's lips before she gave her a deeper kiss that lasted for the rest of the song.

When the song ended, it changed to a faster song and broke them out of their quiet romantic bubble. Santana wanted to curse her iPod for its shuffling selection because she was enjoying that kiss, but she did have to admit that it was good that it happened because if it didn't, they would have lost themselves in each other and ignored their friends for the rest of the night.

"Who needs another drink?" Blaine called out as he made his way over to their makeshift bar.

"I do!" Brittany cheered and ran over to him.

-()-()-()-()-

By three o'clock in the morning, their party started to die down. They had been together for about four hours and they were all very tipsy. Santana looked over Brittany's shoulder from where they were dancing and noticed that Rachel and Jesse were dancing with them, but Blaine and Kurt were sitting on the couch whispering and giving each other soft kisses. She smiled and then looked away because she didn't feel the need to eavesdrop on their moment.

A few minutes later, Kurt came up to Santana and Brittany. "Ladies, Blaine and I are going up to our room." He said with lazy smile on his face. "Thanks for a great night. See ya tomorrow."

They didn't break apart to hug the guys goodbye, but Santana and Brittany did wish them goodnight.

"I think I'm a little drunk!" Rachel slurred hanging off Jesse's neck. He wasn't too far behind her in that department. He was doing good to hold her up.

"You guys wanna crash here?" Brittany asked with a giggle.

"Yeah!" Rachel cheered and then moved over to Brittany. "Santana, do you mind if I dance with my sister?"

Santana smiled and backed up. "Nope."

Brittany and Rachel danced while Jesse and Santana attempted to tidy up their mess. It wasn't out of control, but the six of them had polished off a handle of vodka, most of the rum and wine, and there were several different mixers and bags of snacks that were either empty or half-full.

"Thanks for letting us stay." Jesse said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, no problem." Santana smiled. She was in very good mood. "You okay with the couch?"

"Sure. I've slept on much worse."

When the song ended, Rachel and Brittany broke apart and joined them. Santana reached into the mini-fridge and pulled out a couple of bottles of water for them all, and then they got ready for bed. Jesse found the spare blanket and pillows and made himself comfortable on the couch.

Rachel, put on some of Brittany's clothes, and instead of going through her nighttime routine, she just crashed on the spare bed. She was out almost before her face hit the pillow.

Santana and Brittany changed and then fell into bed with a giggle. Brittany leaned over Santana, turning off the lamp, and then took Santana's bottom lip between her own. The kiss started out slow and slightly sloppy since they were a little intoxicated, but it steadily picked up the pace and became heated when Brittany crawled on top of Santana, pressing their hips together, causing them both to let out a moan into each other's mouth. After a while, Brittany needed more contact and reached for the hem of Santana's shirt. She pushed it up a bit and touched every piece of soft skin she could find. When the back of her hand ran across the base of Santana's breasts, she noticed that Santana was wearing a sports bra, just like she was. Brittany smiled into the kiss, breaking it briefly as she pulled Santana up into a sitting position, so she could remove Santana's shirt.

Santana moved to do the same to Brittany, but then an ill-timed, yet valid concern, hit her foggy, intoxicated mind.

"Britt, we can't! Your sister is in the bed next to us!" She yelped, out of breath from their kiss. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the room, making it possible to see the blissful expression on Brittany's face as she looked down at her.

"So, she's asleep." Brittany giggled and kissed Santana playfully.

"Yeah, but-" Santana tried to protest, but Brittany was having none of it.

"San, we aren't going to have sex, I just want to make out with you and maybe feel you up a bit." Brittany stated with a coy smile, and slowly ran her hands up Santana's toned abs, over her covered breasts, and back down to the top of her sleep shorts, where she rested her hands on Santana's hips.

Santana was having a hard time arguing with that, especially with all the lovely touching going on. In fact, she really liked Brittany's idea and she wanted to do some touching of her own. "Okay, but we have to be quiet." The last thing she wanted was for Rachel to wake up to find them making out again, only this time in a semi-state of undress; she was sure that that would not go over very well.

"You worry too much." Brittany said playfully and kissed the tip of Santana's nose. "Now where were we?"

"I think you were about to let me take your shirt off." Santana said with a smirk, pulling Brittany's tank top off, revealing her pink sports bra, before she wrapped her hand around Brittany's neck to pull her in for another kiss.

-(The Next Morning)-

"Ugh, I feel like crap." Rachel grumbled. She was sitting on the couch, hunched over with her head in her hands.

"How much did you drink last night?" Brittany asked, taking a bite of her toast.

"I don't know, I lost count, but I probably drank the same amount as you guys, but none of you seem to be hung over."

"That's because we have a better tolerance than you." Jesse said in a soothing tone as he rubbed her back. In actuality, they were all a little hung over, but not so bad that they couldn't function properly, and it was nothing that water and a decent meal couldn't fix.

"Do any of you have pain killers?" Rachel whined.

"I do, hold on a sec." Santana said, getting up.

She quickly went into the bathroom and dug around in her bathroom bag until she found the small bottle of pills. When she came back into the living room, she handed the bottle to Rachel along with her water bottle.

"Thanks." Rachel squeaked and then took her pills, downing most of her water.

"Rach, you need to eat something. Santana ordered you some toast and fruit. Why don't you try to eat?" Brittany urged.

"Because it hurts to move."

"You need to try, because it'll help you feel better, and you have to perform tonight, so unless you want your understudy to-" Jesse started to say, knowing that he would strike a chord mentioning her understudy.

"Don't even mention that word to me!" Rachel huffed as best she could. She reached for her plate and started to eat. "The show must go on."

Jesse tried to swallow the smile that was forming on his face, "So what do you lovely ladies have planned today?" He asked, changing the subject and the attention away from Rachel.

"We're going to play tourist today." Santana answered with a smile.

"Yeah we're going to the Empire State Building and Central Park for a picnic, and then later tonight we're going to see 'The Lion King' with Shelby and Beth." Brittany added, excitedly.

"Sounds like fun." Jesse said, still rubbing Rachel's back while she ate. "You should order the express pass for the Empire State Building online before you go. You'll pay a little more but it lets you skip most of the lines."

"Oh, thanks for the tip." Santana said. She hadn't been to the Empire State Building in a while, and even then, she hadn't pay for her last trip, so she was unaware that there was an express pass.

"You're welcome. Oh and don't forget when you're getting your food for your picnic to bring extra bread for the duck pond." He offered, knowing of Brittany's fondness for ducks.

Brittany's eyes lit up. "I used to go to the park in Lima all the time to feed the ducks. It's very relaxing."

"We'll be sure to get some extra bread." Santana assured her with a smile. She loved how the simplest things could brighten Brittany's mood, and in turn brighten her own.

-()-()-()-()-

"Oh my, we're so high!" Brittany exclaimed as she looked through the guardrail of the 86th floor observation deck of the Empire State Building. It was a clear and sunny day, so they could see for miles around them. "It's almost like you can see everything from up here."

Santana chuckled, "It kinda feels like that."

Brittany nodded, and looked at the map in Santana's hand. "So you've been pretty knowledgeable of the layout of the city so far, do you think you could give me a guided tour, or do we need to look at the map." Brittany said with a sweet smile.

"They just give you these things, but yeah, I can give you a basic tour."

"Awesome." Brittany chirped and turned around. "What part of the city are we looking at now?" Brittany asked, taking a few pictures.

Santana came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. "That's Lower Manhattan." She said quietly. She was right by Brittany's ear so there was need to speak loudly or even at a normal level.

"Is the tall building the Freedom Tower?"

"Yep."

"What else?" Brittany breathed out, completely in awe of the urban sprawl in front of her. Sure, she lived close to L.A. and was used to a large urban area, but she had never seen so much of it at one time before.

Santana moved closer and pointed to the right. "That area on the other side of the Hudson River is New Jersey, and do you see those little islands to the right of the Freedom Tower?"

"Yeah."

"That's Ellis Island on the right and the Statue of Liberty is on the left."

"I can't really see it?"

"Take a picture with your camera and zoom in."

"Okay." Brittany agreed and took a picture in the direction that Santana directed her to. She zoomed in and Santana had to help her scroll over to the right spot. "Oh, there she is! Do you think we'll have time to go see her and the 9/11 Memorial?"

"Probably not today, but when we come back we'll go exploring." Santana offered.

"Deal." Brittany said with a smile and turned her head to give Santana a quick kiss over her shoulder.

Santana smiled at Brittany, looking into her blue eyes for a moment. "Let's go over here." She offered and took Brittany's hand and led her over to the East side of the building. They had to wait a moment for a spot in front of the guardrail to open up. "You see those three bridges down there?" Santana said pointing south.

"Mm-hmm."

"The one furthest away is the Brooklyn Bridge, the middle one is the Manhattan Bridge and that last one is the Williamsburg Bridge."

"What river is that?" Brittany asked, snapping more pictures.

"It's the East River and the south part of that island is Brooklyn," she then pointed to the area that was right in front of them, "that's Queens, and further north is Long Island."

Brittany nodded taking it all in. It took her a moment but then a thought hit her. "So, wait a minute, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island are all on the same island?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know that, I always thought that Long Island was a separate island. So really people from Brooklyn and Queens are from Long Island."

Santana chuckled. "Technically, yes, but don't try to tell someone who lives in Brooklyn or Queens that they're from Long Island, they might have some choice words for you."

"Ooooh," Brittany drawled, "I'll try to remember that." She said as they over moved towards the north side of the building.

"Yeah, please do, because I will cut a bitch if they do." Santana said, chuckling. "That building with the pointy top is the Chrysler building, that bridge behind it is the Queensboro Bridge, and that white rectangular building close to the water is the United Nations building."

"How do you know where everything is? I'm gonna be so lost when we come back." Brittany slightly pouted.

"No you won't, well at least not for long. Manhattan is easy to navigate, the roads are in a grid system, so as long as you know the address, you'll be able to find where you're going, and the reason I know where I am, is because when I was recording my first album, they sent me to New York to record it, so I was here a lot while it was being produced."

"Oh." Brittany nodded. "So you'll help me figure it all out?"

Santana smiled and leaned in to place a soft kiss to Brittany's lips. "Of course. I wouldn't let you get lost, and you've done pretty well so far."

"Well, the studio wasn't far from the hotel, and if I wasn't with you or Rachel or Shelby, I took a cab, so it was easy, but I'm a little nervous about the subway, I'm not sure how true this is, but someone once told me that there's over 800 miles of subway tracks in New York."

Santana chuckled, "Babe, don't worry too much about it, you'll figure it all out, and you'll be a pro at it before you know it." She said and kissed Brittany on the cheek. Her heart fluttered when she realized how easily she called Brittany, 'Babe.' She didn't even have to think about it, it just came out.

"Okay." Brittany smiled. She loved Santana's confidence in her, and again it gave her the confidence she felt she was lacking in unknown situations. She put her arm around Santana's waist and kissed her temple. She let her eyes roam around her before she saw something that caught her attention. "Is that Central Park?"

"Yep." Santana confirmed.

"It looks really big."

-()-()-()-()-

"Oh, this is such a pretty spot!" Brittany cheered as they arrived at The Pond in Central Park.

Santana smiled and nodded, it was a pretty spot, but she was sure that she thought that it was an even better place when she was with Brittany. "Yeah, it is pretty."

Brittany took Santana's free hand and walked her to the middle of the Bridge that over looked The Pond. Brittany immersed herself in the scene and took in every detail that she could find. "San, that building looks familiar, I feel like I know it from somewhere, but I can't place it. Do you know what it is?"

Santana looked over to what building Brittany was talking about and smiled.

"Yeah, that's the hotel from the 'Home Alone' movie."

A wide smile appeared on Brittany's face. "I loved those movies when I was a kid. Let's get our picture taken with it in the background." She suggested.

"Sure."

Brittany looked around and saw a couple that was trying to take a picture of themselves, so she approached them with the intent to offer to help them take a picture if they would take one of her and Santana as well, but she quickly found out that they didn't speak English, they spoke Spanish. Santana immediately noticed that there was a language barrier, and stepped up to repeat Brittany's offer, but in Spanish this time.

The couple accepted, and Santana took a few pictures for them. Then the woman in the couple took Brittany's camera and took a couple of pictures of Brittany and Santana on the Bridge from different vantage points. When they were finished taking pictures, Santana thanked the other couple and bid them farewell.

"I didn't know that you spoke Spanish fluently." Brittany said, impressed.

"Yeah, both my parents were born in Puerto Rico, so when I was learning to talk, they taught me English and Spanish at the same time."

"That's cool."

"Hey, you said fluently, how did you know that I spoke Spanish at all?" Santana asked when she realized Brittany's wording. She didn't remember speaking Spanish around Brittany, and over the past week, she noticed that Brittany wasn't big on using the internet except for something that she needed to look up, so she doubted that she had looked up that fact about her.

Brittany smirked. "Weeell," she drawled, "last night while we were making out, you said a few things in English _and_ Spanish whenever I touched you somewhere you especially enjoyed."

Santana's jaw dropped a little, "I did?" She didn't remember doing that, but she guessed that she was so occupied by what she was doing that she wasn't paying attention to what she was saying.

"Mm-hmm," Brittany said, leaning into Santana and whispered into her ear, "It was super-hot."

Santana felt her breath hitch at Brittany's words before she returned Brittany's smirk. "I guess I'm going to have to teach you a few words, so you'll know what I'm saying."

"You can, I wouldn't mind learning, but for some reason I think it's hotter not knowing what you're saying, because then I can just use your body and the tone of your voice to translate."

Santana swallowed hard, Brittany had a way of making her whole body tingle with the simplest things. "I-I'll keep that in mind." She stuttered.

"You're so cute sometimes." Brittany cooed at how easily she could work Santana up. "Let's go find a spot to eat." She said and took the bag that Santana was holding in one hand and Santana's hand in the other.

Santana looked around and saw a nice grassy area that was under a tree, near the water, and not too far from the bridge. "How's that spot look?"

Brittany looked down to where Santana was pointing and smiled. "It's perfect, and there aren't a lot of people around, so it'll be romantic."

Santana and Brittany walked hand in hand toward their newly designated picnic area. Brittany pulled a smaller bag holding their food out of the bigger bag and handed it to Santana. She then removed a small blue blanket that they had bought at a store on their way there from the bag and spread it out in front of them.

"Okay, now it's a picnic." Brittany chirped as she sat down and took her sandwich from Santana.

"Mm-hmm." Santana agreed, joining Brittany on the blanket.

"I'm really having a good time with you today." Brittany said after a few moments of comfortable silence. "It's not every day that I get the most beautiful woman in the world giving me a one-on-one tour of one of the most amazing cities in the world."

Santana smiled as she chewed. When she swallowed and was able to talk again, she disagreed with Brittany's statement. "I'm having fun too, but there is no way I'm the most beautiful woman in the world-"

"Yes you are!" Brittany cut in playfully. She was not going to let Santana put herself down.

"That's nice of you to say, but in reality, it's me who gets to walk around the city with the most beautiful woman in the world." Santana said with a sweet smile.

Brittany chuckled, "Mmm, I don't know about that, have you seen you, you're pretty hot."

"Yeah, well you're hotter and probably the sweetest person I've ever met, so I win." Santana played back.

Brittany blushed, "Thanks San." She accepted the compliment, because she knew they'd go back and forth all day trying to convince the other that their girlfriend was 'more beautiful.' "You're pretty sweet too."

It was Santana's turn to blush. She turned away shyly and looked out over the water. If someone had told her two weeks ago that she would be sitting in Central Park having a this conversation with her girlfriend over a picnic lunch, she'd probably wouldn't have believed them; but in this moment she didn't care how ridiculous and cavity-inducing their conversation probably sounded to an outsider, it made her happy, and more importantly, it made Brittany happy, and that was all that mattered to her.

"It looks like we have some visitors." Santana said with a smile, turning back towards Brittany. Apparently, their presence, along with their food, had been noticed and two grey and blue ducks were headed their way.

"Aww, they're so cute!" Brittany cooed and reached into the bag, pulling out two slices of bread for her and Santana.

"Mm-hmm, well as long as they don't try to eat my food, I'm cool with them, but I will fight them if I have to." Santana said, playfully, but serious as well. She was hungry and she wanted her food.

Brittany laughed and moved closer to the ducks, breaking up her bread. "Don't worry San, I'll protect you; your food is safe." She joked, throwing some bread down toward the ducks.

Santana chuckled and took another bite of her sandwich before she covered it up and joined Brittany in feeing the ducks. Within minutes, they had attracted a few more hungry birds, which caused a wide smile to split Brittany face.

"You know, you're right; this is kinda relaxing." Santana commented.

"I told you. Haven't you done this before?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah as a kid, but not since I was about ten years old." Santana said, thinking back to the last time she had fed the ducks with her parents.

"You've got to be kidding me." Brittany blurted out with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope." Santana said matter-of-factly and threw down some more bread to a very impatient female mallard.

"Well, we're doing it now, and I know this won't be the last time either."

When all their extra bread was gone, Santana and Brittany went back to their food and noticed that their little duck gathering was not going anywhere, so Santana stood back up, "Okay you crazy birds, lunch is over." She said, waving her arms, gently shooing the birds back towards the water.

Brittany giggled. "See, they listened; your sandwich is still safe."

"Yeah, I saw that big one eyeballing my food, and I was not going to play that game."

"Mm-hmm." Brittany mumbled as she chewed.

Santana smiled back at her and continued eating as well. When they were finished, they cleaned up their garbage and put it in the bag they brought with them.

"That was delicious, but before we go further into the park, I wanna lay here with you for a few minutes." Brittany said, taking Santana's hand into her own and laid down on the blanket.

Santana followed her and when she was on her back, Brittany curled into her, resting her head between her shoulder and the crook of her neck.

Santana let out a contented sigh and turned her head slightly to kiss the top of Brittany's head.

"I think I'm starting to get addicted to lounging around with you." Brittany said, looking up at Santana.

"Me too." Santana cooed, and placed a soft kiss to Brittany's lips.

They had both been busy with work or other things in the past week, but they still managed to make time to be with each other and cuddle, mostly in the morning before they got out of bed or in front of the T.V. in the evenings. It may not have seemed like much, but they felt a closeness with each other that they hadn't felt with their other partners in a long time, well for Brittany anyways, this was a first for Santana.

-()-()-()-()-

When Brittany and Santana returned to their suite later that afternoon, they went straight into the bedroom, removing their shoes, before they laid down on the bed together. They had crammed so much sightseeing into a few hours, and they needed a quick recharge before they had to get ready to meet Shelby and Beth.

"I think we walked about twenty miles today." Santana groaned.

"Okay, that's probably a bit of an exaggeration," Brittany chuckled, "But it felt like it."

In an effort to see as much as they could, they walked everywhere they went. After their picnic at The Pond, they walked through most of Central Park, which they found out was almost six miles, and then they stopped by F.A.O. Schwarz, where Brittany used her puppy dog pout to convince Santana that they had to play The Big Piano before they left, and then they walked down 5th Avenue, window-shopping, before they decided it was time for them to head back to the hotel.

"We walked a lot, my feet are not happy with me right now." Santana said. "But despite the objection from my feet, I had a lot of fun today."

"Me too," Brittany smiled, "and you have to admit, you had fun playing with that piano."

Santana glanced over towards Brittany, and the smile on her face made her smile as well. "Okay, I admit it; it was fun and I think we made a pretty good team."

"It's a big piano, I think at least two people were needed to play it, but that's not the only thing that makes us a good team." Brittany cooed.

Santana's smile widened. She rolled over onto her side and kissed Brittany's cheek. Brittany rolled, facing Santana, and took one of her hands into her own. They stared at each other for a while, content smiles on their faces as they just enjoyed being near each other.

"San, I-" Brittany started to say, but she paused momentarily, almost as if she changed what she was going to say at the last second, "I really like being with you."

Santana shifted a bit so she could place a small kiss on Brittany's lips and then she tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear. "I really like being with you too, Britt." She said. She had a feeling that Brittany wanted to say more, but she let it go because there was a reason Brittany hesitated, and she didn't want to push her.

Brittany looked down and traced the pattern on the comforter, "We're going home tomorrow and back to our regular lives." She muttered.

Santana let out a small sigh, because she knew what Brittany was try to get at. "Britt, just because we're going home, doesn't mean we won't be together."

"I know." Brittany sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I want to go home, I miss Lord Tubbington, but I'm afraid that once we go back to our lives, we aren't going to see each other as much as we do now, and I really don't want that to happen."

"Beverly Hills and Redondo Beach are only like twenty miles apart, we'll see each other all the time." Santana offered, trying to reassure Brittany.

"Yeah, but twenty miles in L.A. could mean a two hour sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic if you hit it at the wrong time, and I don't want that to put a strain on us."

"Baby," Santana cooed and placed a lingering kiss on Brittany's lips, "I would sit in traffic all day if that meant I got to see you; even if it was for only an hour, I'd still do it."

"I would too, and I'm sorry to fuss over it, but I just worry about stuff like that because when I first moved to L.A., I dated a girl that I met at my first job, and I really liked her and I thought she really liked me, but she hated the drive between my house and hers so she broke up with me."

"That's awful." Santana gasped. She hated that someone would do that to Brittany. "What a bitch. That has got to be one of the most ridiculous breakup excuses I've ever heard."

"Yeah, but that's just it, she wasn't a bitch at all, she was very sweet to me, so it not only shocked me, but it really hurt when she did that."

"I will never hurt you like that Britt, I promise." Santana said squeezing Brittany's hand.

"Thanks." Brittany whispered. "I'm so glad I found you, San. When I'm around you, you always make me feel better and so safe."

Santana's heart fluttered and a shy smile etched its way onto her face. "I feel that way about you too. You're so unlike anyone that I've ever known, and I love that about you. Before you, I never really opened up to people, except maybe Kurt and Quinn, and even then it was hard, but for whatever reason, I feel like I can open up to you and you won't use it against me."

Brittany blushed. "Really?" She had never been that kind of person for anyone before.

"Mm-hmm." Santana breathed.

"I'll make you a promise then…I'll do my best to never take advantage of that trust you have in me. I always want you to feel safe with me and for us to be able to talk and confide in each other. My dads have that kind of relationship. They're the happiest couple that I've ever known, and I want that with you."

Santana felt heat rush to her cheeks and down her neck, and her heart began to beat a little faster. She didn't say anything in response, she just leaned in and kissed Brittany.

For the first time, Santana felt like she was truly loved by someone that wasn't her parents or her two closest friends. Brittany didn't have to say it out loud, Santana felt it, and even if Brittany wasn't _in love_ with her yet, she still had a level of affection for her that Santana would equate to love, and it was a love that Santana returned. She knew in this very moment that she was in love with Brittany. There were no ifs or uncertainty to it like she had the other day when she was talking to Kurt, she knew what this was, and for the first time in her life, Santana was in love.

When they finally pulled back from their emotional kiss, Santana put one of her hands on the back of Brittany's neck and rested their foreheads together. "Britt, I…I love you." She breathed out. She wasn't sure if she was going to say it at first, but she remembered what Brittany said about them always being open with each other and she knew that this beautiful moment that they were sharing with each other was the perfect time to say it.

Brittany's breath hitched in her chest and she opened her eyes. She didn't get a chance to respond, because a beat later, Santana spoke again, her eyes still closed.

"I love you, and it's okay if you're not in a place where you feel like you can say it back yet. I just wanted you to know, and I-"

"I love you too." Brittany said quickly, cutting Santana off. She didn't want Santana to think that she didn't return her affections.

Santana opened her eyes and looked into Brittany's. "You do?"

"Mm-hmm." Brittany breathed. "I've been trying to work it out in my head for a few days because it felt like it was happening so quickly, but I don't think it matters how fast it happened; what matters is that it happened and I'm so happy that you love me back." She said, overjoyed that the feelings she felt for Santana were reciprocated.

Santana's smile widened, practically taking up her whole face. "You're right, it doesn't matter how fast it happened, all that matters is that I love you, and you love me." She said leaning over to kiss her girlfriend and she hoped that it conveyed all the love and affection that she held for her.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N**: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter and if you have time, please let me know your thoughts.

Last chapter there was a lot of anon reviews! I usually send everyone who reviews a little note to say thank you, but since I can't respond you guys, I just wanted to say thank you so much! The more feedback I get, the more I have to work with for the story, so again, thank you anons :-)

Also, I've changed betas. I would like to thank **Stalpankaka** for all her time and effort that she has put into helping me beta this story. She's awesome, but extremely busy, so on that note, I would like the thank **naynay1963** for proofing this chapter!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Brittany and Santana were lost in themselves. They had just admitted their love to each other and the explosive kiss that followed made everything around them disappear, including time, because they were unsure of how long they had been kissing, but things were headed to the point that if they went any further, they would no longer be making out.

Brittany rolled on top of Santana, and within moments of her feeling Santana's hands roaming her clothed body, she felt restricted. She broke their kiss for the first time and practically ripped off her shirt. She removed Santana's shirt just as quickly and started a slow trail of wet open-mouth kisses up Santana's toned stomach.

Santana arched her back at the feel of Brittany's lips moving across her hot skin and she moaned loudly into the room. Normally, being on the bottom would be a point of contention for Santana, because she always needed to be in control of what was happening, but now with Brittany, she didn't care. It was weird, but she loved it.

When Brittany's lips found the bottom of Santana's bra, she kissed the tops of each breast and ran her lips up tanned skin until she found Santana's mouth again, which began another heated kiss between them. Brittany reached back to remove Santana's bra and just as she was about to unhook it, Brittany's phone rang, effectively breaking them out of their moment.

"Fuck!" Santana huffed breaking their kiss. She was not happy about being interrupted.

"Sorry." Brittany said, sheepishly, even though it wasn't her fault, and reached over Santana for her phone that was on the nightstand beside Santana's head. She figured she might as well answer it since they had already been disturbed.

When Brittany's bra covered breasts brushed across her face, Santana couldn't help but reach out for one of them.

"Uuuugh." Brittany moaned. He body was still worked up and extremely sensitive to any touch. "San, I can't answer the phone with you doing that." She whined as she sat back down on the bed. Santana followed her into a kneeling position and placed her lips on Brittany's pulse point, sucking lightly, while still kneading one of Brittany's breasts with her hand.

"Then don't answer." Santana said in a throaty tone and ran her tongue up Brittany's neck at an excruciatingly slow pace until she took Brittany's earlobe into her mouth and sucked on it.

Brittany was going to say something in return but she couldn't think straight with what Santana was doing to her body, so she gave in and dropped the phone in the bed. She didn't even know who was calling. It stopped ringing a second later.

"If it's that important, they'll leave you a message." Santana whispered into Brittany ear and laid her down, so she was now on top, and restarted their kiss. She had one of her hands tangled into Brittany's hair and the other was still massaging Brittany's left breast. She rolled her hips into Brittany's to give them both some much needed friction, but unfortunately that's as far as they got before the phone rang again.

"Shit." Santana breathed, breaking the kiss. "Go ahead, answer it." She conceded in frustration and dropped her forehead onto Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany nodded, but didn't move because Santana was still lying on top of her, and she didn't want her to move. She felt around blindly on the bed until she found her phone and answered it without looking to see who was calling.

"Hello?" She croaked.

"_Hey Britt-Britt!"_ Beth cheered into the phone.

When Santana and Brittany heard who was on the other side of the line they both instinctively moved away from each other because they didn't want to be in their current position with Beth on the phone.

"Hey Beth, what's up?" Brittany asked, sitting up and looked over to Santana, who was now lying on her back and had one of her arms on her forehead with a frustrated look on her face as she tried to calm her breathing. Brittany mouthed a silent _"I'm sorry,"_ to her.

Santana just nodded and waved her off.

"_Are you okay, you sound funny?"_ Beth asked, ignoring Brittany's question.

Brittany swallowed hard and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine; I was just taking a nap." She lied.

"_Oh, I didn't mean to wake you, is Santana awake, I can talk to her if you want?"_

"No, it's fine, she's taking a nap too." Brittany said. She was sure Santana would sound just as 'funny' to Beth as she did. "What's up?"

"_Mom wanted to call you, but I asked if I could, so she wanted me to let you know that we're going to meet at John's Pizzeria in an hour."_

"John's Pizzeria?" Brittany repeated. "Where's that?"

"_Umm…"_ Beth said and then yelled to Shelby to ask the question without taking her mouth away from the receiver. Brittany had to hold it away from her ear for a second, but when she put it back, she could hear Shelby talking in the background. _"Mom says it's on 44__th__ between 7__th__ and 8__th__."_

"Okay, we'll see you there in an hour." Brittany said.

"_Are you excited Britt?"_ Beth chirped into the phone, and Brittany couldn't help but chuckle back.

"You know it kiddo."

"_Okay, Mom says I have to get off the phone now, but tell Santana I said hi."_

"I will."

"_Love you and see you soon."_

"Love you too, Beth." Brittany said and then hung up her phone. "I'm sorry San." She said again, looking down at Santana.

Santana shook her head and sat up. "Britt, it's fine, it isn't your fault; it isn't anyone's fault."

Brittany nodded, "Maybe it's a good thing we were interrupted," she started to say, "As much as I would have liked to let it continue, I think we might have been a little rushed since we have somewhere to be soon, and I really don't want our first time to be rushed."

Santana nodded, and offered her a small smile. As frustrated as she was at the moment, she agreed with Brittany. "Me either, I want to take my time when I make love to you for the first time." She said and took Brittany's hand into hers and kissed it. "And honestly, now that I've had time to think about, I'm not sure if I want it to be in a hotel room that we may never see again. I want it to be somewhere that has meaning for us."

Santana felt her heart flutter at her word choice. She had never 'made love' to someone before, and she'd be lying if she said the thought of that wasn't a little bit overwhelming for her, but overall, she was excited for it because she wanted to have that experience with Brittany.

"Yeah?" Brittany asked shyly. She loved that idea. It sounded so sweet and romantic to her.

"Mm-hmm," Santana answered with a sweet smile. She had her moments when she was sentimental, and while their suite had been where they spent their first few days as a couple, and where they declared their love for each other, in the grand scheme of things, it really was just a random place that they may never see again. She wanted their first time together to be somewhere that would have more long-lasting significance to them.

Brittany blushed slightly, and leaned over and kissed Santana softy. "I want that too." She said in a whisper.

They were silent for a few moments, but Brittany had something that she wanted to ask, and she was trying to think of a nice way to put it without it coming out bad, but she figured that there was no easy way to do it, so she decided to just come out with it.

"Um…since the mood is already killed, and it's not likely that it's going to continue tonight, I was wondering if I could ask you something personal."

Santana raised her eyebrow at the suddenness of it, but she nodded. "You know you can ask me anything."

"Okay…" Brittany muttered and looked down at the comforter. "I-I don't know how to say this without it coming out blunt, but um, usually before I'm with someone sexually, I like to make sure that we're both safe, so I just wanted to let you know that I got checked about three months ago, and I haven't been with anyone sexually since then."

Santana smiled at Brittany's nervous ramble and nodded. "There's nothing wrong with asking that, and the last girl I was with was a few months ago, and I've been tested since then and everything came back fine."

"Okay great." Brittany sighed in relief. "Sorry if I embarrassed you."

Santana shook her head. "It's a tricky subject, but it has to be addressed, so don't worry about it."

"Alright." Brittany said with a smile. That was one worry off her shoulders. "Shelby wants us to meet them for dinner in a little under an hour, so I guess you better hop in the shower first if we hope to make it there on time."

"Hey, I don't take that long to get ready." Santana fake huffed.

Brittany chuckled, "I didn't mean it that way, but you do take longer than me, so get a move on." She said playfully.

-()-()-()-()-

"Sorry we're late." Shelby apologized as she and Beth sat down at the table with Brittany and Santana. "Just as we were about to walk out the door, Beth accidently tripped and spilled orange juice all over her nice white dress, so we had to pick out a new outfit, and then it was a nightmare getting a taxi. Any other time, there are a hundred of them outside my building, but one of the few times I'm running late, it takes forever for an empty one to drive by."

Brittany smiled at Shelby. "It's fine. I got your text and we ordered for you already, so the food should be here in a few minutes and you're drinks are on the table.

"Okay great." Shelby sighed in relief. "I hope this place is alright, it's close to the theater and most importantly, kid friendly."

"Yeah, who doesn't love pizza?" Santana said with a smile and looked over to Beth. "So, how was school?"

"Good. We watched a movie about animals in Africa today, and I got an A on my math test."

"That's good!" Santana complimented.

"Yeah! Good job, Beth!" Brittany cheered.

"Thanks. Oh and I told everyone that I was going to see 'The Lion King' with my big sister and her girlfriend and everyone was jealous." Beth said with a wide smile.

"Beth, it's not nice to do that." Shelby scolded. She didn't like the idea of Beth bragging at school.

"But Mom, they all know Brittany now; I can't help it if they're jealous if I get to hang out with her."

Santana and Brittany chuckled, while Shelby just blinked in surprise. She was not expecting that answer. She had assumed that the kids were jealous of where Beth was going, not who she was going with.

"Brittany is pretty cool, I'd be jealous if I couldn't hang out with her either." Santana said and squeezed Brittany hand under the table.

"See." Beth said, looking up at Shelby as if she didn't know why she was being scolded in the first place.

"Okay, you guys stop it." Brittany blushed and covered her face with her free hand. "I'm not that cool."

"Yes you are!" Beth said louder and more insistent than normal, genuinely trying to convince Brittany.

"Yes you are!" Santana echoed a split second later in the same tone as Beth. She was trying to get on Beth's good side, and play with Brittany in the process.

Brittany pulled her hand away from her face and gave Santana a playful sideways glance, because she knew what she was doing. "Okay, Beth, I believe you."

Beth smiled widely.

"What time is your flight tomorrow?" Shelby asked before she took a sip of her wine.

"Two forty-five." Santana answered. "The car is picking us up at noon."

"Oh, so at least you get to sleep in a little bit."

"Yeah, after today I'm going to need some decent sleep, we wore ourselves out. I swear we went nonstop." Brittany said with a chuckle.

"But I thought you guys took a nap earlier?" Beth chimed in. For an eight year old, she really could be too observant at times.

Santana nearly choked on her drink and Brittany paled when their lie came back to them. "Um, yeah, we did, but we didn't get to rest for too long." Brittany said quickly and took a nervous drink of her water.

Beth shrugged, accepting the answer, but Shelby quirked an eyebrow at their reactions and then about two seconds later a look of realization took over.

"So, I guess you two were busy this afternoon." Shelby asked innocently for Beth's sake, but Santana and Brittany caught the double meaning.

The look that Shelby was giving them reminded Santana of her own mother's expressions whenever she would do something that concerned her. It kinda made her nervous.

"Umm, not as busy as you'd think." Santana answered, quickly.

Shelby nodded, and Brittany looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her.

"Okay, what else did you guys do besides take a nap?" Shelby asked, genuinely curious about their day.

"We had a picnic in the park and fed the ducks." Brittany answered quickly, taking the conversation as far away from 'naps' as possible.

-()-()-()-()-

"Santana, can I sit in between you and Brittany?" Beth asked as they neared the second level of the theater.

"Sure, Honey." Santana answered with a smile.

"What's your favorite part of the movie?" Beth asked Santana. She had been quite enamored with her and asked her all kinds of questions at dinner and since leaving the restaurant. She even went as far as holding Santana's hand as they walked to the theater.

"Umm…it's been a while since I've seen it, but I think the part where they sing 'Hakuna Matata.' I always liked that song. What about you?"

"I like the part where Simba and Nala fall in love." Beth answered.

"Oh yeah?" Brittany asked playfully. "What do you know about love?"

"Tons." Beth said seriously, as if she wasn't eight years old. "I love Mom, and you and Rachel, and Uncle Hiram and Uncle LeRoy, and now Santana, and I know that you and Santana are in love with each other, and you're going to get married one-"

"Beth, Honey, do you want a drink?" Shelby interrupted. She wasn't sure where Beth was going with that answer, so she decided to cut in before it went too far.

"Umm, yeah." Beth answered, unfazed by the interruption. "I can't wait for the show to start." She cheered happily, as they reached the door that went into the theater.

"San, you want a drink too?" Brittany asked.

"Sure, I saw that they have some frozen mixed drinks, I'll have one of those."

"Beth you go with Santana to our seats, and Brittany and I will get the drinks." Shelby said.

"Okay, Mom." Beth said and took Santana's hand into hers again.

Shelby and Brittany walked the short distance to the Mezzanine level bar and got into line. There were several people in front of them so it was going to take a few minutes for them to be served.

They were quite for a few moments, before Shelby broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about earlier at the restaurant." Shelby said quietly so no one around them could hear their conversation. "I didn't mean to pry."

Brittany nodded. She figured they were going to have a talk. "It's fine, you're just concerned about us, I get that."

Shelby sighed. "Honey, I know that you're an adult and I might not be your biological mother, but-"

"Shelby, you're more of a mother to me than my birth mother ever was. Biological or not, you _are_ my real mom." Brittany interrupted. She wanted to reassure Shelby of her feelings and she took Shelby's hand and laced their fingers together. She never had to do that before and it worried her a bit.

"I know, and I love you as my own, but sometimes I feel like I might overstep my boundaries, and I felt like that tonight asking about your sex life, but you have to understand, as a parent, I worry about these things and I don't want you or Santana to get hurt by moving too fast."

Brittany nodded and smiled. "I know things are moving fast with us; I don't get it either, but she makes me happy and I feel so safe around her. You know I've had issues with that since my birth parents threw me away. I've never felt this way so quickly with any of my other partners, usually it takes a while for me to find that trust in them, but Santana is different than all of them, and she's so open and caring with me."

Shelby nodded because she knew that was true. Brittany had a big heart, and while it may seem like she gave it away easily because she was so personable, she actually was guarded when it came to her heart, because after her birth parents disowned her, it took her a while to feel safe with people, so when that trust had been taken advantage of in the past, it really hurt her, and that's what worried Shelby when it came to Brittany.

"I love her." Brittany said after a moment.

"Love?" Shelby asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm."

'D-Does Santana know you love her?"

"Yes, and actually, she told me she loved me first."

Shelby's eyes widened at that. That was a surprise for sure. She had known Santana for years, and in all that time, she had never even heard of Santana being in love with someone else. She was always distant and closed off when it came to matters of the heart, but Shelby had to admit that she hadn't seen any of that in Santana when she was with Brittany. The way she looked at Brittany and interacted with her told Shelby that, and the way that Brittany reciprocated Santana's affections made Shelby believe that those two might really be in love with each other.

Shelby shook herself out of her initial surprise, focusing all her attention on Brittany, and affectionately squeezed Brittany's hand. "Honey, that's great that you and Santana have found that love in each other."

"Thanks." Brittany said with a blush. "So you're okay with it?"

"It concerns me with how fast it happened," Shelby said honestly, "But I trust you and I've seen you two together this week and you seem to really care for each other. Santana's a good girl; I like her, so I'm okay with it." Shelby said and put her arms around Brittany's shoulders, giving her a tight hug.

Brittany held on to Shelby as a small child would hold their mother and rested her chin on Shelby's shoulder. "Thanks, Mom." She whispered with a smile.

This wasn't the first time that Brittany had called Shelby 'Mom.' She would do it every now and then, but she had gotten into the habit of calling her 'Shelby' when she first met her, that that was what she usually called her. Rachel did that sometimes too, and Shelby didn't mind either, but sometimes, Brittany couldn't help but call Shelby what she was to her, and she was her mom.

When they broke from their embrace, Shelby playfully bopped Brittany on the nose. "Now just because I'm okay with your relationship with Santana, it doesn't mean that six months from now I want to hear that you ran away and got married, okay?" She said jokingly, but there was hint of her seriousness in her voice as well.

Brittany chuckled, but she caught Shelby's meaning. "Don't worry. I think even we would think that is too fast."

-()-()-()-()-

"Mom, can we go see Rachel too?" Beth asked as they walked out of the theater.

"Not tonight, Honey." Shelby said, brushing her blonde hair out of her face. "You have school tomorrow and you're up way past your bed time as it is."

Beth pouted, but she nodded. "Okay."

"Why don't you give Brittany and Santana a hug and tell them goodbye, so we can get you home."

Santana kneeled down to Beth's level since she was the closest to her and wrapped her up in a hug. "It was nice getting you know you this week." She said and her heart clinched when Beth wrapped her little arms around her neck tightly and she heard her sniffle. "Hey, don't cry. Brittany and I will be back soon and then we can hang out all the time." She offered.

"Okay." Beth squeaked and then kissed Santana's cheek. "Love you."

Santana felt her heart swell and she wiped Beth's face. "I love you too, Sweetie."

When Beth let go of Santana, she turned to Brittany and raised her arms. Brittany leaned down and picked her up. Beth buried her nose into the crook of her neck and wrapped her legs around her waist. Brittany held her with one arm and ran a soothing hand up and down her back.

"I'm going to miss you." Beth said muffled into Brittany's neck.

"I'm going to miss you too, Honey. Brittany said, still rubbing Beth's back. "But Santana's right, we're going to be back here soon and I can't wait to see you again."

"Can we have a sleepover when you come back?"

Brittany looked at Shelby and she nodded giving her consent. "Sure, we'll have the best sleepover ever."

"Can Santana and Rachel come too?"

"Duh!" Brittany chuckled and Beth looked up at her. "Who else are we going to play tricks on?" She whispered.

Beth laughed, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Santana rolled her eyes playfully at Brittany's comment and chuckled as well.

"Okay, so no more tears, little one." Brittany said. "Show me that pretty smile of yours."

Beth wiped her face and then smiled as wide as she could.

"See, it's still the prettiest smile ever." Brittany said and kissed Beth on each cheek. "Love you, Beth-Beth."

"Love you too Britt-Britt." Beth said and kissed Brittany on her cheeks.

"Hey, before you and Mom leave, ask Santana what she has in her purse for you." Brittany said.

Beth looked over at Santana with raised eyebrows. She didn't have to ask because Santana had already reached into her purse and she handed her a small envelope. "What is it?" Beth asked in a small voice.

"It's a gift card from me and Brittany to F.A.O. Schwarz." Santana answered with a smile.

Beth's eyes lit up. She loved going there. It was her favorite toy store. "Really? Thank you!" She cheered and threw her arms around Brittany and Santana's necks.

"You're welcome." Brittany said. "Make sure you get something really good that we can play with at our sleepover."

"I will." Beth promised and pulled back from their hug. He tears were completely gone now.

When Brittany sat Beth back down on the ground, Shelby spoke up. "Well, I guess we're out of here. You two ladies have a safe flight back and one of you call me and let me know you got home okay."

"Sure. Thanks for everything." Santana said and gave her a hug.

"You're welcome, and take care of her for me." Shelby said with a wink.

"I will." Santana promised.

Brittany was the next one to hug Shelby. "Love you, Mom. Thanks for everything." She said with a smile.

"Love you too, Honey." Shelby said, smiling as she pulled back from their hug. She put a hand on Brittany's cheek, and kissed her opposite cheek. "You take care of her too." She said looking over at Santana.

"You know I will." Brittany said with a wide smile and backed up, taking Santana's hand into her own.

"Alright, we'll be talking soon." Shelby said, taking Beth's hand into her own.

"Bye." Beth waved to them.

"Bye." Brittany and Santana said at the same time and waved back as they watched them walk over towards a line of taxis.

"Oh my god, that was heartbreaking!" Santana sighed, putting a hand over her heart. "I had no idea that saying good bye to Beth was going to be so hard."

"Yeah, she has a way of finding a place in your heart and it's not easy letting go." Brittany pouted slightly.

Santana put an arm around Brittany's waist and kissed her temple as they started the short walk back to their hotel. "You'll see her again soon."

"I know. Thanks for being so good with her. She really loves you. She told me that you're her new best friend."

Santana chuckled. "Really?" She was surprised by that. She knew that Beth had taken a liking to her, but she didn't realize that it was that strong.

"Yep."

"That's really sweet of her."

"She is sweet. She has good taste in people too. I mean, she loves me, so ya know…" Brittany teased as she wiped some invisible dirt from her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm pretty fly too, you know. Beth apparently does." Santana said with fake smugness.

"You think so?" Brittany joked.

"Mm-hmm. I know another cute blonde that thinks I'm pretty fly too." She said, kissing Brittany cheek.

"Really?" Brittany said with a smirk. "Is it your friend Quinn?" She remembered Santana mentioning once that she had blonde hair.

"Ha-ha." Santana said dryly. "You know you think I'm awesome."

Brittany chuckled. "Okay, you got me; I think you're the best."

-()-()-()-()-

Brittany and Santana were packing their bags when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Brittany said and left the bedroom. When she opened the door, she saw Rachel and Jesse with Kurt and Blaine. "Hey guys. Come on in." She said and opened the door wider to usher everyone into the living room.

"Thanks." Rachel said as she came into the room, giving Brittany a quick kiss on her cheek.

"You look like you've recovered from your hangover." Brittany said.

"Yes, it took a while for me to feel better, but thankfully I did. I'm never drinking that much again before a show." Rachel said with a wave of her hand.

"Brittany, how was your day? I feel like it's been forever since I last saw you." Kurt asked as he sat down on the couch

"I saw you last night." Brittany chuckled and sat down in one of the chairs. "And my day was fine. Santana and I went sightseeing and then we saw 'The Lion King' with Beth. It was a lot of fun."

Santana came out of the bedroom when she heard familiar voices. "Hey. What've you trouble makers been up to today?"

"Blaine and I did some research on apartments, since he has to be back in two weeks to start his rehearsals, and then we went out to a nice dinner before we went to see 'Wicked.'"

"Again?" Santana asked with her eyebrows raised. "Kurt, seriously, how many times have you seen that show?"

"Um, this would be my twelfth time seeing it," Kurt said, without taking any offense to Santana's question. "But I haven't seen it with Blaine before, so it seemed like a perfectly good idea."

"Have you seen it, Santana?" Blaine asked. "It's a pretty good show."

"Oh, I've seen it before. You can't be friends with Kurt without being dragged to see it, and yes, I agree with you. It is a good show, but I don't think I would go to see it twelve times, I'd buy the movie if I wanted to see it that many times."

"I already told you that they haven't made a movie for it yet, which annoys me." Kurt said with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I agree with you Kurt, I've actually seen it fifteen times. They should've already made a movie for it." Rachel chimed in, and then an idea popped into her head. "Oh, maybe I should talk to my Mom about it, she loves 'Wicked,' and since she's a producer, I think that would be a project that she would like to take on."

"Rachel, Shelby is a busy woman; she doesn't have time for the special brand of insanity that you and Kurt possess." Santana commented.

Brittany and Jesse chuckled.

"We'll just have to see about that." Rachel said with a huff.

Santana rolled her eyes and gently pulled Brittany out of her seat by her wrist. She sat down, before she pulled Brittany back down into her lap and wrapped her arms around her. Brittany smiled down at Santana and kissed her on her forehead.

"What were you ladies up to when we came in?" Jesse asked.

"Packing." Brittany answered. "I'm almost done, but Santana has a ton of stuff."

"Hey, I always over pack because I never know what I'll need." Santana defended herself.

"Well that's true." Kurt and Rachel agreed at the same time. "Ooo, twinsies!" They chirped, pointing at each other.

"I swear it's like you two are operating on a level all on your own." Santana said shaking her head.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Rachel said with a smile.

They continued to make small talk for a little while, but around twelve-thirty; they decided it was time to say their goodbyes.

"It was great seeing you ladies again." Jesse said giving both Brittany and Santana a hug. "I'm sure when you come back we'll be seeing a lot more of each other."

"Yeah, it'll be fun." Brittany said.

Rachel turned to Santana and hugged her tightly. "Santana, I'm so glad that we're friends now and that you and Brittany are together. I see how happy you make her, and I can't wait for you two to come back."

Santana returned the embrace, "Yeah, I can't wait either." She said and she meant it because despite Rachel's occasional annoyance, she really wasn't that bad, and Santana did like her.

When Rachel pulled back, she had a tear in her eye. "Sorry, I always get emotional when I have to say goodbye."

"It's fine. You aren't the first one to do it tonight." Santana said.

Rachel scrunched her eyebrows together. "Who-"

"Beth." Brittany answered. "She got really upset tonight when she was leaving."

"Oh." Rachel said knowingly. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Santana and I promised her that we were going to have a sleepover with her and you when we get back and that perked her up."

"A sleepover!" Rachel chirped. "Oh, I can't wait for that. I'll be sure to pick out age appropriate songs for the karaoke machine."

"Okay." Brittany said with a smile. It reminded her of sleepovers with Rachel before they lived together.

"Well, give me a hug; I know you two have a lot to do before you go to bed tonight." Rachel said and pulled Brittany into her.

"It was so good seeing you." Brittany said, squeezing her sister tight.

"Same here. You take care of yourself out there." Rachel said.

"I will, and if I need it, I have Santana ready to cut a bitch if anyone messes with me." She joked.

Rachel chuckled and then pulled back out of the embrace. "I guess call me and let me know that you got home."

"Okay. Love ya, Rach."

"Love you too." Rachel said and hugged Brittany one more time.

"Kurt and I will walk you two out. We have to go down to the lobby anyways to talk with the desk." Blaine said as she walked to the door.

"Oh, that would be lovely." Rachel said with a smile.

"Santana, I upgraded the car to a SUV, so there is enough room for all four of us and our luggage." Kurt said.

"Okay, thanks."

When it was just them in the room, they both took note of how quiet it was. It was a little sad, but calming at the same time.

"Come on; let's go see if we can get your bag closed." Brittany joked and walked back into the bedroom.

"Okay, it's not that bad." Santana retorted, as she followed her.

"Oh it is. I haven't seen you wear half these clothes."

"I told you, I travel prepared."

"That's one way to put it." Brittany chuckled.

That night after everything was packed and put away, Santana and Brittany crawled into bed together, and after a goodnight kiss, they laid down with Brittany being the big spoon.

"You know, I'm going to miss this room." Brittany said into Santana's ear.

"Me too, but I can't wait to see your apartment and meet Lord Tubbington."

"I can't wait to see your house and meet Max. Do you think he and Lord Tubbington will get along?"

"I think so, Max is pretty good with cats, but even if they don't, they're going to have to find a way to deal with each other, because I'm not going anywhere." Santana said, turning her head and kissed Brittany on the tip of her nose.

"I love you." Brittany cooed and gave Santana a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you too, Britt."

-(The Next Day)-

"What time does our flight get in?" Brittany asked as they waited at the gate.

"Around six, why?" Santana asked.

"I needed to know so I could text Shannon and let her know when we're getting in."

"Shannon's your boss at the pet store right?" Santana asked. She remembered the name but she wasn't totally sure if she was right.

"Yeah, she's watching Lord Tubbington for me, and she offered to pick me up at the airport. I didn't park my car there because they charge so much, but my friend said he would drop me off, and Shannon told me that she'd pick me up when I called her the other day to ask for more time off."

"Oh…" Santana whispered, because she hadn't really thought about parting with Brittany at the airport. "Umm, I left my car at the airport, so if you want, I can take you home, it wouldn't be any trouble."

"Aww, that's sweet of you." Brittany cooed and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "But Shannon's already expecting to do it. She already asked her niece to run the store this afternoon so she could do it."

"Okay." Santana sighed, disappointed.

"Hey, don't be upset, you have to go get Max anyways. I'm sure he's dying to see you." Brittany said, hoping that would cheer her up.

"I know, I miss him too, but for some reason I had it in my head that I was going to take you home. I didn't even think to ask you earlier."

"I don't want to leave you either." Brittany said, knowing that that was the real issue.

Santana gave Brittany a small smile and leaned over, kissing her on her temple. "We're ridiculous; you know that, right?"

"Hey, we're in love, you can't blame us for being saps about it."

Santana chuckled. "I guess you're right."

"Duh! I'm always right." Brittany stated and bumped her should her into Santana's.

"Oh yeah, how could I ever forget that?" Santana said and rolled her eyes playfully.

Brittany smiled and rested her hand on Santana's thigh. "Do you think we should buy some food to take on the plane with us?"

Santana chuckled, "Not unless you want a specific snack, but we're in First Class, so they're going to give us a meal and snack service."

"Oh yeah." Brittany said nodding her head. "I forgot you upgraded me when you rebooked my ticket. I can't believe you did that by the way."

"Why? I was already booked in First and there was no way I was rebooking you in Coach when there were two open seats in First Class."

"I know, but that's a lot of money you spent on me. We weren't even dating at that point."

"I was already quite smitten with you, if that helps." Santana said with a sweet smile.

"It helps a little, but I don't want you to think that I want you to spend a lot of money on me."

"Babe, I don't think that. I spend my money on you because I want to. Hell, I've earned it, and I can't take it with me when I die, so I might as well spend it on the people that I care about."

"Let's not talk about you dying, but I just wanna put it out there, that I hope that doesn't happen for a long, loooooong time."

"Me too." Santana said.

"I wonder when Kurt and Blaine will be back." Brittany asked after a few moments.

"Soon I hope; we're going to start boarding soon."

"That's if we take off on time. Rachel says every time she tries to fly out of any of the New York area airports, she's always delayed."

"Don't jinx it!" Santana yelped with a smirk.

-()-()-()-()-

"See we arrived on time." Brittany said as they disembarked the plane in LAX. "I guess I didn't jinx it at all."

"I had faith in you the whole time, Baby." Santana joked and took Brittany's hand into her own.

"Ladies, I'm kinda sad to see this trip end." Kurt said as they made their way to baggage claim.

"It was a lot of fun." Blaine chimed in.

"Yeah, it was, and I'm so glad we all became friends." Brittany added.

"We'll have to have dinner together soon. I know Quinn is going to want to meet you Brittany and I have to be there for that." Kurt said.

"Don't say it like that." Santana scolded. "You're going to make her nervous."

"Oh, Quinn is all bark, to us anyways." Kurt stated with a wave of his hand. "Kinda like you Santana." He added smugly.

"Hey, watch it Hummel, don't make me show you how hard I can bite." Santana warned. It really was an empty threat, since Kurt was her friend and not a threat to her, but she decided not to acknowledge that and put on her badass façade.

Kurt rolled his eyes, and Brittany and Blaine chuckled at their little exchange.

When they reached Baggage Claim, they only had to wait a few minutes for their bags to come around the carousel.

"You ladies get home safely, and hopefully we'll all see each other soon." Blaine said.

"Yes, let's plan something very soon." Kurt added.

"Okay. Thanks, you guys get home safe as well." Brittany offered and gave them both hugs.

Santana did the same and then Kurt and Blaine left.

"So, have you heard from Shannon?" Santana reluctantly asked.

"Yeah, she just sent me a text; she said she'll meet me outside in about five minutes. You wanna wait with me?"

"Of course." Santana smiled.

The went outside and found a spot that was close to the curb, and waited on Shannon to arrive, but they really didn't have to wait long, because within a minute of them finding their spot, Shannon's silver car pulled up in front of them.

"Hey, Punkin'!" Shannon greeted Brittany and picked her up into a big bear hug.

"Hey, Shannon." Brittany wheezed from the tight hug.

When Shannon put Brittany back on the ground, she looked over at Santana. "So you must be Santana Lopez, Brittany's new girlfriend."

"Yes, ma'am." Santana said with a nod. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the large woman in front of her, because she looked like a body builder, not a pet store owner, but it just reminded her that she should never judge a book by its cover.

"Ma'am?" Shannon said with a chuckle, looking over at Brittany. "Well isn't she polite."

Brittany smiled. "San, this is my friend Shannon Beiste."

"It's nice to meet you." Santana said and extended her hand out. She half expected her hand to be crushed in Shannon's strong hands, but she was pleasantly surprised at how gentle she was with her.

"It's nice to meet you too. Can I call you Santana?"

"Sure, as long as I get to call you Shannon."

"I'd like that." Shannon said and put an arm around Brittany's shoulder. "I think as long as you treat this little one here well, you and I will be great friends."

"You have nothing to worry about there." Santana assured her with a smile.

"Great!" Shannon said and patted Santana on the side of her arm. "We best be goin'. The airport police are gonna shoo us away soon. Santana am I taking you home too?"

"Oh no." Santana said, shaking her head. "I was just waiting with Brittany until you arrived. I left my car in the lot."

"Alright, I'll load these bags while y'all say goodbye."

"Thanks." Brittany said and then turned her attention to Santana. "So I guess this is the hard part, huh?" She said with a chuckle, trying to keep the mood light, even though they were both sad to be leaving each other.

"Yeah, I guess so." Santana said and pulled Brittany into a hug.

"You know someone told me yesterday it was silly for us to be acting like we're never going to see each other again."

"I know," Santana said into the crook of Brittany's neck, "But I seem to remember somebody saying we were saps."

Brittany chuckled. "Well that's true."

"I'll call you later?"

"You better." Brittany said, playfully.

"Alright." Santana said after a few moments and lifted her head up to look at Brittany. "Gimme a kiss." She said softly.

Brittany smiled at her and leaned down taking Santana's bottom lip in between her own. They stood there in each other's arms, giving each other soft kisses for a good minute before they heard a car horn beep close to them, breaking them out of their moment.

"I love you." Santana said, nuzzling her nose with Brittany's.

"I love you too, San. I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay." Santana said, pulling out of the embrace. She looked over to Shannon standing by the driver door and she waved at her.

Shannon waved back and then got into the car with Brittany. Santana gathered her things and watched as Shannon's car pulled away from the curve and made her way to her own car.

-(Three hours later)-

"Hey you." Brittany purred into the phone as she answered it.

"Hey." Santana sighed, she sounded relieved. "I miss you."

Brittany chuckled. "I miss you too, San, so very much."

Santana smiled. "So what're you up to?"

"I'm actually just getting home. Shannon took me over to her house to pick up Lord Tubbington, and she offered to make dinner for me because I don't have any food in the house. What're you up to?"

"The same actually. When I went to pick up Max, Quinn was already making dinner, so I stayed and hung out with her for a while."

"That's nice. So was Max happy to see you?"

"Oh my god, he lost his mind!" Santana practically squealed. "He started howling and jumping in excitement when he saw me. I thought he was going to sprain his tail with how fast he was wagging it."

Brittany chuckled. "That's awesome. Lord Tubbington is usually pretty laid back, but when I walked into Shannon's house, he jumped up and ran over to me. He never runs anywhere, so I know he was happy to see me. He's curled up in my lap right now, actually."

"I guess our babies missed us." Santana said smiling, looking down at Max who was sitting in her lap as well.

"I think they did. I even told Lord Tubbington that he's going to meet some new friends soon, and that I really wanted him to like them."

"Oh yeah?" Santana asked, playfully.

"Mm-hmm, I told him how I met my dream girl and that she has a cute little doggie that's going to be his new best friend."

Santana chuckled because she could totally see Brittany having that conversation with her cat. "I told Max that I have a new girlfriend and that he's actually going to like this one."

"He didn't like any of your other girlfriends?"

"Nope, which I thought was weird because he's so friendly and loves everyone, but for some reason he didn't like the two girls he met. I guess that should have been my first clue that they were all wrong for me."

"Now I'm nervous." Brittany said. "What if he doesn't like me?"

"Brittany, you have nothing to worry about. He's going to love you."

"But-"

"No buts," Santana interrupted, "He is going to love you, just wait, and see. He's smart, too smart for his own good sometimes. Do you know I have to spell around him; I swear he knows English _and_ Spanish."

Brittany couldn't help but giggle. "I'll be sure to make a good first impression."

"You will." Santana chirped. "So what're you going to do for the rest of the night?"

"I was actually thinking about taking a quick shower and then going to bed."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I usually don't go to bed this early; it's usually around midnight, but I think I'm a bit jetlagged."

"It's almost ten o'clock here, so it's almost one o'clock in New York, so yeah, I think it's time for bed. I have to get up early anyways." Brittany said.

"Really? What for?"

"Work. I always work the whole day on Saturday. The store is closed on Sundays, so Shannon takes Saturdays off, I take Mondays off, and that way we both get a full consecutive weekend."

"Oh, so what time do you close the store?"

"Six."

"Okay. Can I call you during the day or should I just wait until you're off?"

"It's okay to call, but it might be better if you text, Saturdays can be busy, so it'll be easier for me to respond to you"

"Okay. Do you get a lunch break?"

"Yeah. If it slows down, I'll usually close the store for about thirty minutes so I can run across the street to the deli, but I don't have a set time for that. I'll be sure to call you on my break though."

"Alright." Santana sighed. She really didn't want to get off the phone but she knew that they had to. "I guess I'll just talk to you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, okay." Brittany said; she was disappointed as well to be getting off the phone.

"I love you, Britt." Santana cooed into the phone.

"I love you too, San."

-(A little later)-

Brittany was in bed, and the room was so quiet, which normally would be a good thing for someone who wanted to sleep, the only noise that she could hear was Lord Tubbington's light snoring, but tonight, all that quiet was alarming to her, and she couldn't sleep.

As tired as Brittany was, she had been lying in her bed for over an hour and she couldn't get comfortable. It didn't take her too long to realize the reason for that. She couldn't sleep because she was alone. Okay, maybe that wasn't true, because Lord Tubbington was curled up next to her, but she couldn't sleep because Santana wasn't next to her.

"This is insane." She whispered into the dark room. She had only slept next to Santana for a week and already she was ruined. _"How is this possible?"_ She thought.

Brittany rolled around for a few more minutes, but it was no use, she wasn't going to get any sleep in her current state, so she rolled over, facing her nightstand and picked up her phone. Her fingers hovered over the keys for a few moments, and she actually contemplated not sending anything, but she thought that Santana might still be awake, so she went ahead and sent a message.

**To Santana Lopez 11:49 PM: **_I can't sleep._

Less than a minute later, her phone rang.

"Hey." Brittany said answering.

"I can't sleep either, which is so annoying because I'm really tired, and Max is passed out on his back with his feet in the air next to me, and I'm so jealous of him right now, but I can't sleep because you're not here." Santana pouted.

"Me too." Brittany chuckled. "We're ridiculously hopeless aren't we?"

"I guess so, but honestly Britt, I can't sleep because you're not here. I got so used to sleeping next to you last week."

"We need to fix that tomorrow night. Do you want to stay here or do you want me to come up to see you."

"Um, I don't really care. I just want to be with you."

"I wanna be with you too, Baby." Brittany sighed. They were quiet for a moment, but then Brittany had an idea. "Okay, let's do this….since we haven't seen each other's homes yet, I'll come up to your house with Lord Tubbington after work and stay Saturday and Sunday nights, and then all of us can come back here and stay at my apartment on Monday since I have to be at work semi-early on Tuesday morning."

"Okay, that sounds good." Santana said in a small voice.

"San?"

"Yeah Britt?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

For a while, they didn't say anything to each other, they just laid in bed and listened to the sound of the other breathing. It was comforting for them to know that even though they couldn't be together in the same room, they were still able to be close to each other over the phone.

"Britt, I'm starting to fall asleep." Santana slurred.

"Me too." Brittany yawned.

"Okay, I'm going to go."

"Okay. I'll call you from work."

"Mm-hmm." Santana muttered. Sleep was quickly taking over her. "Love you."

"Love you too, San." Brittany said with another yawn and hung up the phone.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! I appreciate it so much. If you get a chance, please let me know what you think. Feedback is so helpful and it tells me if you guys like were the story is going, or if there is something I can do to improve it.

Anon reviewers,thanks again! I wish I could send you little thank you notes in your in-boxes to tell you how much I appreciate you guys, just like I do for the signed reviewers, but this is the best I can do, so thank you!

Thank you to **naynay1963** for her help with this chapter! She's so helpful :-)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Brittany reached down to pick up a twenty-pound bag of kitty litter for an elderly woman, her first customer of the day. "Is this all you need Mrs. Walters?" She asked as she carried it to the counter.

"Yes, thank you dear." Mrs. Walters said as she pulled her wallet out of her purse and handed Brittany her credit card.

"How's Fergus doing?" Brittany asked, making small talk.

Mrs. Walters had been a regular since before she started working for Shannon, so Brittany was used to seeing her in the store for various things.

"Oh, he's good. The little scamp got into my potted plants the other day. I was so mad at him, but after I cleaned up his mess, he came up to me with his big sad eyes, and naturally, I forgave him. He's too cute to stay mad at."

Brittany chuckled and handed her a slip of paper to sign.

"Sometimes I think they're worse than children."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Lord Tubbington is the master at trying to get out of trouble, it usually works too."

"We're just suckers for our fur babies." Mrs. Walters said, handing Brittany her slip back, and took her receipt.

"I'll carry this out for you." Brittany said, picking up the bag and hoisting it over her shoulder as she walked towards the door.

When she returned to the register, she noticed that a light on her phone was flashing, indicating that she had an unread message.

**From Santana Lopez 10:16 AM:** _Mornin' Beautiful. How's work?"_

Brittany smiled as she responded.

**To Santana Lopez 10:20 AM:** _Its fine, slow at the moment. How'd you sleep?"_

**From Santana Lopez 10:21AM:** _Okay, I guess. Better if I was with you :-) _

**To Santana Lopez 10:22 AM:** _"Same here. Lord Tubbington is cuddly, but not as cuddly as you."_

Another customer walked into the store. "Good Morning." Brittany greeted the couple, and she noticed that they had a yellow Labrador puppy with them. "If I can help you with anything, let me know."

"Okay, thanks." The woman in the couple said and they walked over to the harnesses.

Brittany refrained from checking to see if Santana responded, because she didn't want to seem rude or unprofessional with customers in the store. Fifteen minutes later, the couple and their puppy approached the counter with a harness, three different types of chew toys, and a box of treats.

"He's cute. What's his name?" Brittany asked.

"Joey." The woman said.

When Brittany was done ringing up their items, she came around the counter with a puppy treat in her hand and crouched down to pet Joey. "You're a friendly little guy." She said when Joey put his front paws on her knee and licked her cheek. "Is it okay if I give him a treat?"

"Sure." The man said with a smile.

Brittany gave Joey his treat and scratched behind his ears. "You're a sweet boy." She said and stood up.

When she was behind the counter again, the woman gave her a funny look and then looked at her nametag. "Are you Brittany Pierce? Santana Lopez's girlfriend?"

Brittany blushed. "Um, yeah."

"I thought you looked familiar." The woman cheered. "I saw your picture in a magazine. What're you doing here?"

Brittany was caught off guard by the questions, but she answered anyways. "I work here, obviously." It was said in a friendly tone. "I'm only going to be here for a little while longer. I'm moving to New York soon."

"What're you going to be doing there?" The woman asked.

"Um, I was just cast in a Broadway play that's going to open in August."

"Really? Which one? We're going to New York for Christmas to see my grandmother, and we planned to see a few shows."

"Dance True." Brittany answered.

"We'll be sure to see it when we're there." The woman said with a smile.

"Oh?!" Brittany chirped. She was surprised that someone would see the show without knowing what it was about, just because they met someone who was in the show. "Thanks. I hope we don't disappoint you."

"I'm sure it'll be great." The woman said and Joey pulled on his leash, trying to get to the door. "We better go. It was nice meeting you, Brittany."

"It was nice meeting you guys as well." Brittany said with a smile. Since they paid with cash, she realized that she didn't even know their names. "Um, I didn't catch your names."

The couple looked surprised that she even cared to ask. "Um, we're Brian and Cindy Poole."

"Have a nice day Brian and Cindy."

"You too." The couple said at the same time and then left.

Brittany checked her phone to see if Santana responded to her.

**From Santana Lopez 10:23 AM:** _I can't wait to cuddle with you later._

Brittany felt her heart jump in anticipation and returned the text.

**To Santana Lopez 10:51AM:** _Me either. I just had a couple in here that recognized me from the magazine and it was so weird because the woman almost seemed star struck and they promised that they'd see my show in New York at Christmas._

**From Santana Lopez 10:52 AM: **_Welcome to showbiz, you have fans now, haha!_

Brittany giggled.

**To Santana Lopez 10:53 AM:** _What are you doing today?_

**From Santana Lopez 10:54 AM:** _Not much, I'm on my way to get lunch._

**To Santana Lopez 10:55 AM:** _Are you driving?_

**From Santana Lopez 10:56 AM:**_ Yes, but don't worry, I'm not using my hands to type, I'm using the Bluetooth system in my car to type out the message for me, I'm just speaking into a mic._

**To Santana Lopez 10:57 AM:**_ Okay good. Oh, more customers…talk later._

A little over an hour later, Brittany was in the office looking for a box of staples to refill the stapler at the register, when she heard the bell ring on the door, signaling that someone had entered the store. Brittany quickly grabbed the box and went back into the store. When she came out, she didn't see anyone, but a second later, a small black dog rounded the corner of the treat aisle. He wasn't wearing a leash, and as soon as he saw Brittany, he went running up to her.

Brittany crouched down to pet him and he seemed like he was happy to see her. His little tail was wagging and he was trying to lick her. "Hello little guy, who are you?" She asked, rubbing his ears, but then she saw the gray streak above his right eye. She read the name on his bone shaped tag, which clearly said 'Max.'

Brittany felt her pulse start to pick up. "Santana?" She called out into the store as she picked up Max and held him in her arms.

Santana poked her head around the corner of the aisle that Max came from, and she had a wide smile on her face. "See, I told you he'd love you." She said as she took in the surprised look on Brittany's face. Max was licking one of her hands.

"What—how…I mean, what a surprise! I wasn't expecting to see you until later!" Brittany cheered and met Santana halfway.

Santana leaned in and kissed Brittany. It was short, but sweet. She didn't want to risk doing more in Brittany's work where a customer could walk in at any moment. "I was just sitting at home, playing with Max, when I thought that I would be the world's worst girlfriend if I just sat at home doing nothing while my girlfriend was at work, and I didn't at least bring her lunch." She said and held up a bag that was behind her back.

"In & Out Burger! I love it." Brittany said and she had to tighten her grip on Max, because he was stretching out towards the bag trying to get to the food.

"I know you do; you mentioned it last week, so here you go."

"You're so sweet. I think I'll keep you around." Brittany cooed and leaned in to give Santana a lingering soft kiss.

When Santana pulled back from the kiss, she reached out to scratch Max under his chin. "So I see that you and Max are friends now."

"Yeah." Brittany chuckled and scratched Max's head. "I guess I was worried over nothing."

"So where do you usually eat?"

"In the office. I'll go ahead and lock the doors and take my lunch now since there's no one here."

"Sounds good."

Brittany sat Max down on the floor, locked the door, and put the sign on the door, telling any would be customers that the store would open in thirty minutes. They all went into the office, Brittany sat at the desk, Santana sat in the chair beside it, and Max sat on the floor next to Santana's feet

"I usually sit in that chair when Shannon's here." Brittany said; pointing to the chair Santana was sitting in.

"Do you work with her a lot?" Santana asked as she handed Brittany her food.

"Yeah, usually Tuesday through Friday. I don't think she really needs me here most of the time, but she insists that she does. It's a lot of fun working with her because on the day that I work by myself, it can get kinda lonely when there are no customers in the store."

"She seems really nice." Santana said and ate a fry.

"She is. She's probably the one of the nicest people I've ever met, and it hurts me that people make snap judgments about her before they even get to know her."

"Are people mean to her?"

"No, they aren't mean, but she's been divorced for a few years now, and she hasn't had much luck dating because most men don't find her attractive or they assume that she's gay, but she's not."

"She was married before, she'll find someone." Santana said, hoping it was the right thing to say.

"I know, but he wasn't a nice man. He was at first, but then after they got married, he changed and he started hitting her-"

"Wait minute," Santana interrupted her, shaking her head in disbelief. "Someone physically abused her? She looks strong enough that she could take out any man who laid a hand on her."

"She is, but she isn't a violent person. She took it for a while thinking that she was the problem, but finally she decided it wasn't her, and she got out of there."

"Well that's good. I hate to hear about anyone being abused like that."

"Me too, but she's in a much better situation now than she was."

Santana nodded. "So how's your day been? She asked, changing the subject.

"Good, it got a little busy in here before you came in, but it was fun. I got to see a lot of animals. The couple that recognized me had a cute Lab pup with them, then an older couple came in with their tabby kitten, and then two different families came in with their pets. One had an Irish Setter and the other had an American Bulldog."

"Sounds like it was a good day so far."

"It's even better now that you're here." Brittany said with a shy smile.

Santana retuned the smile and leaned over to kiss Brittany. "Mmm, you taste delicious." She said, smacking her lips.

"So do you." Brittany said and then looked at her watch. "You know, if we finish eating early, we might have some time to make out before I have to open the store again."

Santana swallowed hard. "Do you think that's a good idea, what if we get too worked up?"

"I'm willing to take that chance." Brittany said with a sly smile.

Santana nodded, and took a big bite of her burger; the faster she finished her food, the better.

Fifteen minutes later, Santana was sitting on the edge of Shannon's desk, her hands tangled in Brittany's hair, her legs wrapped around Brittany's waist, and Brittany's hands were on her hips, pulling her into her as they kissed.

"You have to go back to work." Santana reluctantly breathed out when Brittany eventually left her lips and kissed down her jaw towards her ear. She hated herself for being responsible.

"I know." Brittany replied quickly as she peppered wet kisses down Santana's neck. "Five more minutes."

"Uh-huh." Santana squeaked out, because she couldn't deny the request. The sensation of Brittany's lips on any part of her body was heavenly, and she'd make out with Brittany all day if she could.

When they finally pulled apart, Brittany ran her hands up and down Santana's arms. "I love you." She said with a loving smile on her face. "Thanks for being so sweet and bringing me lunch."

"I love you too, and you're welcome." Santana said with a dreamy smile. "I can't wait until you're off."

"Me too." Brittany said. She looked down and noticed Max. "What're you two going to do until then?"

"I thought since I'm already down here, I could wait until you're done with work, and then we can take one car up to my place."

"Oh, okay." Brittany said nodding. "Do you want the key to my apartment; you can hang out there until I'm done?"

Santana shook her head. "No, I don't want to freak out your cat. I think it would be better if I went in with you for the first time, especially since I have Max with me."

"Okay." Brittany agreed. She thought that was a better idea, because she wasn't sure if it would upset Lord Tubbington or not.

"We'll be fine. I'll take him down to the beach for a long walk and after we'll window shop for a bit, and then I'll meet you back here a little before six."

"Okay."

"I better go. I don't want to get you in trouble with Shannon for having the store closed for too long. I want to be on her good side."

Brittany chuckled. "You are on her good side. I told her about New York, so she's pretty happy with you."

"Let's keep it that way." Santana said, kissing Brittany's lips one last time before she slid off the desk, and pulled Max's leash and harness out of her purse.

-()-()-()-()-

Santana and Max walked into Furry Tails a few minutes before six and saw Shannon and Brittany talking at the counter.

"Hey San." Brittany said as she looked up from the piece of paper that she was writing on. "Did you two have fun today?"

"Oh yeah." Santana said with a chuckle. "He loves the beach. There were a bunch of other dogs out, so he was happy, although, he was a little mad that I wouldn't let him play in the water."

Shannon and Brittany laughed.

"So, what's this little guy's name?" Shannon said, looking down at Max.

Santana bent over to pick him up and brought him over for Shannon to see. "This is Max."

"He's so cute, and his hair is so soft. What breed is he." Shannon asked and she rubbed behind both of Max's ears.

"He's a Bichon Frise-Poodle mix."

"Is he hypoallergenic?"

"Yeah." Santana answered. "I have a slight allergy to dogs."

"I didn't know that." Brittany chimed in, looking up from her paperwork again.

"Yeah, it's nothing too serious, I usually just get a little congestion, but I'm fine around hypoallergenic dogs."

"Are you okay around cats?" Brittany asked worried.

"Yep, totally fine." Santana said lightly to assure Brittany, she could see the slight panic forming.

"Okay, good." Brittany sighed in relief.

"So what're you two crazy love birds doin' for your weekend?" Shannon asked.

"We're going up to Santana's house for a few nights, and then coming back down here on Monday." Brittany answered.

"Cool, so do you have any plans?"

"I don't know; we haven't had a chance to talk about it." Brittany said and looked over at Santana.

"Um, other than having dinner with my friend Quinn tomorrow night, I just thought about having a quiet, lazy weekend together since we were so busy last week, but if there's anything you want to do, just let me know."

"No, I like that idea; just you and me and the fur babies." Brittany said with a happy smile.

"That sounds like a pretty good weekend to me." Shannon chirped as she scratched under Max's chin. "What're y'all still doing here?"

"Um, because I'm not done closing down the store." Brittany stated the obvious. Shannon knew she still had to clean the store and breakdown her register.

"No you don't, I'll finish up; you two kids get out of here." Shannon said and moved around the counter and picked up a broom and dustpan.

"Shannon, no, I can't let you do that." Brittany protested.

"Yes you can, because I'm the boss and I say so." Shannon smirked.

"But it's your day off."

"Don't worry Punkin', I'll have this place cleaned up in no time, you two just go and enjoy your lazy weekend."

"Okay." Brittany said uneasy. She felt bad leaving early. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Shannon said with a smile.

"Um, before we go," Santana started to say, "I was kinda hoping to buy a toy to bring to Lord Tubbington."

"Aww, that's sweet, San." Brittany cooed. She would have kissed Santana right then, but she was still on the other side of the counter.

"What'd you have in mind?" Shannon asked as she swept.

"I don't know. What's he like?"

"Um, he's not really big on balls or teasers toys because he gets bored with them quickly, but he likes to cuddle with stuffed animals when he's sleeping, and sometimes when he's feeling energetic, he'll pounce on them." Brittany answered.

"Okay, so like maybe a stuffed teddy bear or something?" Santana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Come on," Brittany said, coming around the counter. She took Max out of Santana's arms and curled him into her chest, as she run a hand up and down his back. "We'll go pick out one together, and while we're at it, we'll get a little something for Max too."

-()-()-()-()-

"So do you think I should give him his toy now, or wait until we get to my house?" Santana asked Brittany as she pulled Max out of his carrier. They had just arrived at Brittany's apartment.

"Umm, let's wait until we get to your house, that way he can use it there." Brittany said and climbed the outside stairs to her apartment.

Santana followed with Max in her arms. When they stepped into the apartment, Santana was careful to keep Max in her arms because she didn't want him surprising Lord Tubbington.

"I'm going to go to get Lord Tubbington; he usually likes to nap in my bed when I'm not here."

"Okay." Santana said and watched her disappear into her bedroom. She looked around the room and she smiled as she took in Brittany's living space.

The living room, dining area, and kitchen were one big open space that included all three areas. Santana remembered that Brittany had mentioned that the apartment was fully furnished, but there were still elements around the apartment that just screamed Brittany. The first thing that caught her attention was the posters on the walls of people dancing. There was a large collection of movies by a small flat screen TV, which when Santana perused them, she saw that they had similar taste in movies, and she couldn't help but giggle at the large selection of Disney movies that she owned. Brittany also had a lot of picture frames around the room that had pictures of her family, and people that she assumed were friends.

Santana picked up one picture and her smile widened. It was a picture of a much younger Brittany in front of a birthday cake and she was surrounded by Rachel, Shelby, what looked like toddler Beth, and two men that she guessed where her fathers.

"That was my eighteenth birthday." Brittany said, looking over Santana's shoulder.

"You look really happy." Santana said with a smile and turned to look at Brittany over her shoulder.

"I was." Brittany said simply with a smile.

"So is this Lord Tubbington?" Santana asked, putting the picture back. She turned around and made sure to keep the side that she was holding Max a little further away from Lord Tubbington until they were able to introduce them.

"Yes, this is him." Brittany confirmed. "Lord Tubbington, this is my girlfriend Santana, and her dog Max." She introduced them.

Santana chuckled and reached over to pet his head. "It's nice to meet you."

Lord Tubbington seemed to take in Santana and sniffed her wrist as she was petting him. When she pulled her hand back a bit, he nudged his head into her hand and ran it up and down a few times, encouraging her to continue petting him.

"He likes you." Brittany said with a smile.

"Great," Santana said with a smile. "Let's see if these two can become friends." She said and cautiously brought Max in front of her.

Max seemed to be interested in Lord Tubbington right away. He had been around cats for most of his life, so he didn't see them as something to hate. He saw them as playmates. He stretched towards Lord Tubbington, and his little nose was sniffing in overdrive.

Lord Tubbington on the other hand, didn't seem as interested in Max. He wasn't scared of him because he made no effort to try to get away. He sniffed at Max as well, but after a few moments, he accepted Max's presence and his usual air of superiority seemed to take over and he looked bored.

"I think that went okay." Brittany smiled. She was happy that they seemed to be getting along.

"Yeah." Santana said relieved.

"I'll just grab my bags and put Lord Tubbington in his carrier so we can get out of here.

"What, no tour of the rest of the house?" Santana joked.

"There's only the bedroom and the bathroom, and I thought I'd wait to give you a decent tour of the bedroom when we get back on Monday." Brittany said with a sly smirk.

"Oh!" Santana perked up. "In that case, I'll go put Max in is carrier and then I'll help you load your stuff." She said quickly.

"Thanks, Babe. You're the best." Brittany said before she gave Santana a quick peck on her lips.

-(An hour later)-

"This is your house?" Brittany asked as they pulled though the electronic gate in front of Santana's house.

"Yep. Home Sweet Home."

"I thought you said it was small, this place is huge!" Brittany gestured wildly with her hands.

"I said it was small for the area, but big for me." Santana clarified. "It's far from being a mansion, but it's a good size to one day house a family comfortably."

"Oh, I guess you're right." Brittany said, blushing. "So how many bedrooms does it have again?"

"It has four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, two bonus rooms, a pool, and a small pool house in the back."

"You have a pool?" Brittany asked, whipping her head around.

"Yeah. You did bring a swim suit didn't you?"

"No, you didn't tell me that I needed to bring one."

"Oh?" Santana pouted. She wished that she had remembered to do that. "We can go out and get you one later if you want." She offered as she pulled up to the garage and pushed a button in her car to open it.

"I can use one of yours if you don't mind, or we can just go skinny dipping; that would be fun. You don't have any neighbors that can see into the pool do you?"

"Umm…" Santana said blankly. She was still trying to get past the skinny dipping comment. "Um, no. No neighbors, well I have neighbors, obviously, but I don't think that they can see into the pool area, and there's a privacy fence around the property, so there shouldn't be any random people around either."

"Awesome!"

Santana pulled her car into the three-car garage.

"You have two cars?" Brittany asked in disbelief. She didn't know anyone in her personal life that owned two cars for one person.

"Yeah. I know this is going to sound so stuck up and so Hollywood, but when I was buying a car, I couldn't decide between a car and a SUV so I bought both."

"Do you use both of them?"

"Yeah, I tend to use my car more often, but I use my SUV when I need more room or if I just feel like driving something different."

"That isn't stuck up, you use them both. If you didn't, it'd just be a waste."

Santana nodded with a smile, taking her keys out of the ignition. "We're finally here." She announced. She was really happy to have Brittany at her house. Her home had always felt like a safe haven to her, and now that Brittany was a big part of her life, she wanted her to be a part of her safe haven as well.

Santana got out of the car and took Max out of his carrier in the back seat before she set him down on the ground and let him roam. She wasn't worried about him running off because of the fence. "Um, Britt, is Lord Tubbington a strictly indoor cat, or do you let him out as well?"

"He's both, but normally when he gets out, it's because he's snuck out to Arby's or we're going for a walk." Brittany answered as she pulled Lord Tubbington's carrier out of the car, with him still in it.

"You take him for walks? Like on a leash?" Santana asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh, I take him for walks all the time." Brittany said, shrugging her shoulders. "When I first got him he was twenty-five pounds, but now that I pretty much forced him to learn to walk on a leash, he's lost about five pounds."

"I've never heard of anyone walking a cat." Santana mused as she popped the trunk of her car.

"It's not common, and I've gotten some funny looks from the people in my neighborhood, but it's helping him lose some weight. I don't think he needs to lose too much more, I kinda like him a little tubby, but I'd like for him to be around fifteen pounds."

"This is something that I'm going to have to see." Santana said chuckling, pulling both of Brittany's bags out of the car.

"I'm going to leave him in his carrier until we get inside. I want him to get used to being here before I let him go outside on his own."

"Yeah, okay." Santana agreed and then turned her attention to the yard. "Max, come on, inside!" She yelled, and he sprinted back towards to garage. "Good boy!" She cheered bending down to pet him. "So," she said looking back up to Brittany, "You hungry?"

"Starving."

"Great, me too." Santana said, walking around her car to the door that led into the house. "I'll give you a quick tour of the house and then I'll start dinner."

"Cool." Brittany followed her into the house.

"This is the laundry room, obviously." Santana said as they walked into the first room. They went into a hallway, "Guestroom, and bathroom over there," She said pointing, "In here is my studio."

"You have a studio?"

"It's not anything too fancy; it's more like a glorified office with music equipment." Santana said opening the door so Brittany could see in.

"I think it's cool." Brittany said with a smile.

Santana retuned the smile. They walked up the short hallway, "Living room over here," She said pointing to her right, "Kitchen and dining room over here." She pointed to the left.

"You home is so beautiful!" Brittany said as she quickly looked through both areas. "I love the furniture. "It's so soft." Brittany said feeling the mocha colored love seat. "I was half expecting you to have black leather furniture."

Santana chuckled. "I almost got a leather set, but these ones are so comfy. I fall asleep down here so often, I might as well call this my second bedroom."

Brittany just continued to take in the space.

"Come on; lemme show the rest of the house, so we can get dinner started." Santana said as she started to climb the stairs.

When they reached the top, there was an open area that look a little like a second living room. "This is the second bonus area in the house, I wasn't sure what to do with, so I put a couch and recliner up here, with a TV, but I mostly use it as a playroom for Max."

"Oh, yeah I can see that. All his toys are up here." Brittany commented.

"For now. I kinda tidied up earlier, but give him a few minutes now that he's home and he'll have his toys everywhere again."

Brittany chuckled. "Is this where you want me to put Lord Tubbington's stuff?"

"Sure, but I was thinking his litter box could go in one of the bathrooms or the laundry room."

"Okay." Brittany said, bending down to set the carrier on the ground, and she opened it to let Lord Tubbington out. "That's his bag." She said pointing to the bag over Santana's left shoulder.

"Okay." Santana said and set the bag on the floor.

Max was quick to come over and inpect it. Lord Tubbington watched him sniff at his things, and it seemed as if he was a little annoyed, but then he saw a pile of stuffed animals and he decided to go make himself at home, cuddling in with them. Max didn't seem to care too much that someone was commandeering his toys, but he did approach Lord Tubbington, nudging him with his nose and then crouched down in front of him, his tail wagging.

"Look, he's trying to get Lord Tubbington to play with him." Brittany cooed.

"Mm-hmm, but it looks like Tubbs isn't in the mood to play, he looks like he wants a nap." Santana said.

They stood there for a few minutes watching Max make a couple attempts to get Lord Tubbington to play with him, but it was a futile attempt, the feline rolled over on to his back and rolled around before he snuggled into a fluffy stuffed dog.

"I guess he's not going to play with him yet." Brittany pouted. She wasn't really surprised. Lord Tubbington would play when he felt like it, but if he didn't, you were out of luck until he wanted to. Brittany was hoping that he would play with Max though. She wanted them to get along.

"Let's give them some time to warm up to each other. I'll show you the rest of the house." Santana offered and took Brittany's hand.

Santana showed Brittany the two other spare bedrooms in the house, another bathroom, and then she took her into the master bedroom.

"And this is my room." Santana said with a smile. She almost felt like a teenager again, showing a new friend her bedroom.

"It's pretty. I love the purple and black combination you have going on in here." Brittany complimented. "And I love this king size bed." She said with a smirk and sat down on it. "Ooo and it's comfy too!"

Santana smiled as she watched Brittany inspect her bedroom and she thought she was the most adorable thing she had ever seen. She loved how Brittany could transition from having a lecherous smirk on her face and the next second she's bouncing on the bed and giggling like a child.

"Wanna see the closet?" Santana asked and sat down Brittany's overnight bag.

"Duh!" Brittany jumped off the bed.

When they walked into the bathroom, Brittany stopped in her tracks. "Is this seriously your bath tub?"

"Um, yeah?" Santana quirked an eyebrow.

"It's huge! You could fit like four people in there."

Santana laughed. "Okay, it's not that big, but two people could fit in there comfortably with extra room to move around in." She answered with a half-smile, half smirk.

"And how would you know this? Personal experience?" Brittany playfully asked.

"No, I haven't had the pleasure of finding that out for sure, but that's what the former owners said when I was looking through the house the first time."

"Oh reeeally?" Brittany drawled. "We're going to have to test that theory sometime."

Santana leaned in and gave Brittany a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm so looking forward to that." She whispered.

Brittany blushed and squeezed Santana's hand. "Me too."

Santana retuned a soft smile and led Brittany through the bathroom and into her walk-in closet.

"Holy crap, San! Half my apartment could fit in here!"

Santana couldn't help but laugh. "I know, it's huge, but I have a lot of clothes, so I have to have some place to put them."

"Do you even have any room left in here?" Brittany asked, looking around.

"Actually, I do." Santana said as she closed the door over revealing an empty rack.

"What're you going put in there?"

"Oh, I thought about leaving that part open, just in case someone else needed a place to put their things."

Brittany raised her eyebrows. "You cleared out a portion of your closet for me?"

"I didn't sleep very well last night, so I got up super early, gave Max a bath, went grocery shopping, and then boredom set in, so I figured, why not. If things keep going as well as they are between us, then you'll probably be over here a lot, so I made room for your stuff when you're here."

Brittany's surprised look morphed into a look of sheer adoration with those words. "Santana Lopez, you are probably the sweetest person I've ever met." She cooed, pulling Santana into her, and giving her a soft lingering kiss.

When they pulled back from the kiss, Santana looked like she was in a state of euphoria. "I love you." She breathed out and rested their foreheads together.

"I love you too." Brittany whispered, nuzzling her nose into Santana's.

They stood there for a while, wrapped in each other's arms, not caring that they were standing in a closet; they were just enjoying their moment together.

-()-()-()-()-

"San, your pool is amazing!" Brittany cheered.

They were standing just outside Santana's back door. Brittany had a few friends growing up that had pools in their back yards, and Santana's pool looked longer and wider than most of them, but it wasn't as large as the pool that her college had.

Brittany walked over to the covered, but open cabana and sat down on one of the plush lounge chairs. "I bet you spend a lot of time out here." She said.

"I do." Santana answered. She was standing just to the side of where Brittany was sitting. "I lounge out here when I have time, and Max loves swimming, so we play out here sometimes, but I swim a lot of laps out here to stay fit. I actually prefer swimming laps than going to the gym and running on a treadmill."

"So that's why you're so hot." Brittany said with a smirk as she stood up, taking Santana in her arms, and peppering light kisses up her neck.

Santana welcomed the spontaneous attention by tilting her neck for better access and her hands automatically went to Brittany's hips pulling her into her. When one of Brittany's hands left Santana's back and slid down to grip her ass, she changed her kisses as well and now she was lightly sucking on Santana's pulse point.

"Uuugh!" Santana moaned and tightened her grip on Brittany's hips.

A few moments later, Brittany moved up Santana's neck and kissed her way across her jaw until she found her lips again. They kissed until air was a necessity.

"Damn that was hot." Santana breathed out, dazed. She had not been expecting that.

"It was." Brittany giggled at the look on Santana's face. She was about to lean in for another kiss, but a loud splash interrupted them, and they both turned their attention to the pool.

"MAX!" Santana huffed and pulled away from Brittany when she saw the little fur ball swimming happily.

Brittany laughed. "That was unexpected."

When they last saw either of their pets, they were still upstairs in the playroom, and Max was still attempting to get Lord Tubbington's attention, but he must have gotten bored and when he saw the back door wide open, he took a flying leap into the pool.

"Damn it! I just bathed him." Santana grumbled. She was mad at herself for forgetting to close the door, because this was not the first time that Max had jumped into the pool unexpectedly. He liked the water too much.

"Do you have to give him a bath every time he gets in the pool?" Brittany asked curious.

"No, it's a salt water pool, so there's no chlorine, but I still have to rinse him off, and then I have to blow dry him, because if I don't he'll get matted."

"I'll help you dry him off." Brittany cooed. "With both of us, we'll finish in no time, and then you can make dinner, because I'm dying to try your cooking."

"Thanks." Santana said with a grateful smile. "Max, out!" She called over to him, and pointed to the stairs.

Max was a smart dog, and very obedient, most of the time anyways, so he did as he was told, and swam over to the built-in steps to climb out of the pool. He shook himself off and excitedly ran up to Santana with his tongue hanging out. He looked like he was smiling.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, ya little monster." Santana said sternly, but even wet, he was cute, so it didn't take long for Max to melt her annoyance away.

It took Santana and Brittany fifteen minutes to dry Max off, and when they were finished, they went into the kitchen.

"What would you like for dinner?" Santana asked, opening her refrigerator.

"Umm, what do you have?"

"I went shopping this morning, so I can make a bunch of stuff."

"Why don't you pick. I'm sure whatever it is, I'll like it." Brittany suggested as she sat on one of the bar stools in front of the island.

Santana looked at the time to see that it was after eight o'clock. She stared into her refrigerator for a moment and pulled out a packet of chicken. "How does chicken quesadillas sound? It's quick and easy."

"Sure. Sounds great." Brittany answered. She was not one to complain when other people were cooking for her.

"Okay," Santana nodded. "This was one of the first dishes my Mom taught me how to make."

Brittany smiled at the admission. She loved hearing about Santana's past with her parents. Even though her own biological parents were terrible examples for parents, she was happy that Santana had grown up with a loving set of parents. "How old were you when she taught you?"

"Ten." Santana said, pulling spices out of her spice rack.

"I can just picture you now, standing in front of the stove in a little pink apron with your mom looking over your shoulder making sure that you got it right."

Santana chuckled. "You're close, I didn't have a pink apron, at that age you would've had to beat me into something pink, but I did have a cool red apron."

"You don't like pink?" Brittany asked, wrinkling her nose.

"I like pink now, but when I was a little girl I hated it. Don't ask me why, but I eventually made nice with it."

"I loved pink when I was little. Rachel and I would play dress up when I slept over at her house, and she had this little pink shawl that I always had to put on. I even slept with it a few times."

"You slept with it?"

"Sometimes we would fall asleep in her playroom, and our Dads would have to pick us up and put us into bed."

"Oh." Santana said, rinsing off the chicken in the sink.

"Where did Max run off too?" Brittany asked, looking around.

"He's probably upstairs trying to get Lord Tubbington to play with him again. He's a persistent little thing, but I'm sure once he smells the chicken cooking, he'll be down here begging."

Brittany giggled. "Lord Tubbington might be here too, he's an expert beggar."

"Do you let him have people food?"

"I try not to, but he looks so cute that I usually give in, but I try not to give him too much junk."

Santana chuckled, shaking her head. "Me too. I'm too big of a sucker for his sad eyes."

"We can be suckers together." Brittany said with a smile.

-()-()-()-()-

"Those are by far the best quesadillas that I've ever had." Brittany chirped as she patted her full belly.

"I'm glad you liked them." Santana said smiling. "The fur babies seemed to like them too." She had put down two paper plates for Max and Lord Tubbington that had half a quesadilla cut up into small pieces, and those plates were now licked clean.

"They know good food when they see it." Brittany complimented.

"Mm-hmm. Since Quinn, and Kurt and Blaine, are coming over for dinner tomorrow, I'm going to make you my Mom's lasagna."

Brittany smiled wide. "Oooo, I'm looking forward to that; lasagna is one of my favorites!"

"You're going to like it. It's literally the best ever. I can't even eat anybody else's because I compare it to my Mom's recipe and there's no comparison."

"I'm sure I'll love it." Brittany said warmly.

"So, do you want some desert, I have ice cream." Santana asked.

"No, not yet, I'm too full." Brittany shook her head adamantly. Any more food and she might explode.

"Okay." Santana chuckled. "So you wanna go cuddle in front of the TV?"

"Yes!" Brittany nodded. She had been waiting all day to cuddle with Santana.

After a quick clean up, they settled down on the couch together. They flipped through the channels before deciding on a romantic comedy that was playing on HBO. Not too long after they started the movie, Max came running down the stairs and jumped into Santana's lap, and soon after that, Lord Tubbington sauntered down the stairs as well and sat in Brittany's lap.

Brittany sighed in contentment. The four of them sitting there together was pure heaven for her. "You know, I could do this all the time."

Santana turned her head a bit and kissed Brittany on the lips. "Me too, Babe." It was very domestic what they were doing, but she didn't care, it just felt too right not to enjoy it.

Brittany smiled and gave her another kiss before she rested her head on Santana's shoulder.

When the movie was over, Santana let Max out the back door so he could go to the bathroom. She wasn't worried about him jumping into the pool again because she had pulled over the cover for the evening.

Brittany padded her way into the back yard and wrapped her arms around Santana's waist from behind, nuzzling her nose into her hair. Santana hummed contently at Brittany touch and rested the back of her head on Brittany's shoulder as she wrapped her arms over the arms holding her.

They stood there for a while, just enjoying each other's company as they waited for Max to come back. "Love you." Brittany eventually whispered in Santana's ear and started to sway slowly.

Santana felt a shiver go up her spine and she turned in Brittany's arms, facing her. When Brittany smiled at her, she felt her insides melt. "How did I ever get so lucky to find you?" She asked, because she couldn't believe her luck.

"I guess it was fate." Brittany cooed and rested her forehead on Santana's.

Santana nuzzled her nose into Brittany's but she hesitated to initiate anything else because she knew that any minute now they were going to be interrupted my Max, and she didn't think that she could take another interruption.

Then, as if on cue, Max cantered up the walkway and pressed his two front paws on one of Santana's legs and one on Brittany's legs since they were standing so close.

Brittany looked down and giggled, pulling away from Santana and they all walked back into the house. Santana locked the back door and turned off the outside light before she went into the pantry and pulled out a treat for Max, who accepted the treat happily and ran upstairs into his playroom to eat it, as it was his habit to do so when given a treat.

"So you want that ice cream now, or maybe something else?" Santana asked, opening her freezer and looked inside. If she didn't do something to cool down soon, she was going to jump on Brittany and she wasn't sure if that would be appropriate.

Brittany came up behind her and gently closed the door. She took both of Santana's hands into her own and ran her nose up her neck. "The only thing I want right now is you." Brittany breathed into Santana's ear, and took her earlobe into her mouth, sucking it gently.

Santana felt her heart rate pick up and her knees go weak at the new contact. She was craving Brittany's touch. "I-I want you t-too." She stuttered as another shiver went up her spine.

"Then let's go upstairs." Brittany whispered and guided her to the stairwell.

In the short amount of time it took them to reach the stairs, both of their arousals had sky rocketed, and they practically ran up the stairs. When they reached the bedroom, Santana closed the door to keep the pets out, because she didn't want an audience or any more interruptions.

Brittany pinned Santana to the door once it was closed and took her bottom lip between her own, starting a very heated kiss between them. Santana whimpered as Brittany pressed her hips into her, it felt good, but it wasn't enough contact because the pulse that was vibrating between her legs was too strong, and she needed more.

When they finally broke the kiss, their chests were heaving together. "Where's your phone." Santana croaked out into the dark room. She was making sure they wouldn't be interrupted there either.

"In my purse." Brittany said out of breath. "I turned it off earlier."

"Oh thank god." Santana hushed and wrapped her hand around the back of Brittany's neck, pulling her in for another kiss.

This one started out slower than their last kiss. They both wanted to take their time. They didn't want to rush to the end; they wanted to savor their first time together. Santana started to push Brittany back towards the bed, and when the backs of her legs unexpectedly hit the mattress, she fell back into a sitting position. Santana bent down, making sure that their lips didn't part, and she followed Brittany as she pushed herself further onto the bed.

Santana straddled Brittany's lap, pressing her knees into the mattress, and ran her hands under her shirt. Brittany gipped both hands into Santana's ass and pulled her into her even more.

"Mmmm," Santana moaned and rolled her hips into Brittany's, eliciting a throaty moan from the other girl.

"Saaan." Brittany cried, breaking the kiss. "Off…Clothes off now!" She demanded and pulled Santana's shirt over her head, throwing it carelessly into the dark room.

Santana removed Brittany's shirt just as quickly and started a trail of hot open mouth kisses down her neck to the tops of her breasts, occasionally stopping to suck or nip at the skin as she felt like it. Santana reached back to remove Brittany's bra, unclasping the hooks and slowly pulled it off her arms and threw it into the room. Santana frowned slightly because her eyes still hadn't adjusted to the darkened room, and she wanted to see what Brittany looked like.

"I want to see you." Santana said, palming Brittany's breasts and kneading them. "Can I turn the light on?"

"Uh-huh." Brittany muttered. She wanted to see Santana too.

Santana let go of Brittany's breasts so she could lean over to turn the lamp on, and Brittany whimpered from the loss of contact. Santana fumbled in the dark, feeling for the switch. When she found it, she clicked it once, turning it on its dimmest setting and illuminating the room enough so she could see again, but not bright enough so it was annoying.

When she returned to her position in Brittany's lap, she almost gasped at the sight in front of her. "Britt, you're so beautiful." She said, running her hands slowly up Brittany's toned stomach until she reached her soft breasts.

Brittany giggled slightly, "San, you're overdressed." She declared and slid her hands up Santana's back to unhook her bra.

When Santana was topless, Brittany returned the favor and palmed her left breast, and took her right nipple into her mouth, sucking lightly, because she wasn't sure how much pressure Santana liked.

"Uuuuh, yeah," Santana moaned, throwing her head back in pleasure, as Brittany rolled her other nipple between her fingers. "Harder!" She breathed out.

Brittany increased the pressure with both her mouth and her fingers, and it wasn't long before Santana was panting. It was becoming too much for Santana, she was going to come if she let Brittany continue, and while she was all for gaining a release, she didn't want to come before she was even undressed all the way, so she tilted her head down and then brought her hand to Brittany's chin, tilting her head up.

Leaning down, Santana took Brittany's bottom lip between her own and started another heated kiss between them. Her hands were still on Brittany's breasts, so she slid them to her shoulders, and pushed back gently, laying Brittany down on the bed, as she laid down on top of her. When their bare breasts met for the first time, it sent a shock through them that caused them both to moan into the other's mouth.

Brittany reached down to undo the button on Santana's capris. She popped it open and unzipped the zipper in one smooth move. Santana started to grind her center into Brittany's thigh, and it sent a shot to Brittany's core. She slid her hands into the back of Santana's pants and pushed them and her panties down as far as her arms could reach, but they didn't get any further than her upper thighs.

Santana eventually broke the kiss, leaning back up and lifting her hips up enough so she could remove the rest of her clothes, and then she quickly undid Brittany's jeans and slid them and her panties down her long legs. They took a moment to look at each other, taking in the beauty of their girlfriend's body.

"So beautiful." Brittany said, licking her lips and motioned for Santana to come back to her.

Santana crawled back up to Brittany, and she lowered herself onto Brittany's thigh and pressed her thigh into Brittany's wet center. Brittany arched her back at the new sensation and Santana cupped her cheek and caught her lips, kissing Brittany hard and she squeezed one of her breasts with her other hand. Brittany buried one of her hands into Santana's hair and then gripped at Santana's ass pulling her into her with the other. They rocked into each other's thighs causing a friction that they both needed. Santana could feel Brittany's wetness spread across her thigh, and it drove her nuts thinking about it. She slid her hand from Brittany's breast, slowly between their bodies, past a neatly trimmed blonde landing strip, and after moving her thigh back so she had room, she slipped her fingers into the folds of Brittany's center coating her fingers in Brittany's wetness. It blew her mind how good it felt to touch Brittany like that.

Brittany moaned loudly and arched into the touch, almost breaking the kiss, but Santana's hand on her cheek kept her in place.

A moment later, Santana broke the kiss. She moved her thumb across Brittany's cheek and rested their foreheads together. "I love you so much." She breathed out. This was no mere sexual encounter for Santana; this was her making love to the woman she loved, and she felt like she needed to say it before she continued.

Brittany's hips writhed into the fingers that were still moving through her folds and grazing her clit. "I l-love you too, Santana." She said in a strained, yet genuine voice. She was so turned on, it was hard to speak, but she needed to tell Santana she loved her.

Santana smiled and slipped two fingers into Brittany.

Brittany moaned as she felt Santana's fingers go inside her.

Santana waited a moment to allow Brittany a chance to adjust before she started a slow, steady rhythm, slipping her fingers in and out of her. As Brittany pressed harder into Santana's hand, she increased her pace, until she was thrusting her fingers into Brittany as fast as she could.

"Uuuh, fuck yeah, that so damn good!" Brittany cried breathlessly, digging her fingers into Santana's skin as she tightened her hold on her.

Santana was sure that this was the first time that she had ever heard Brittany say 'fuck,' and it was said with such unbridled passion that it ignited a bust of energy in her, and she pumped her fingers in and out of Brittany faster, pressing into her swollen clit with her other hand. Santana felt the walls surrounding her fingers squeeze tighter and tighter, and within moments, Brittany moaned loudly, pulling Santana into her, as she came undone, finding her release.

Santana placed soft kisses up Brittany's neck and cheeks as Brittany's heavy and desperate breathing started to calm down. When Brittany was able to think again, she turned her head and took Santana's lips between her own, lingering there until she needed to breathe again.

"You…are amazing." Brittany breathed out when they broke the kiss.

Santana didn't say anything in return; she just smiled and took in the satisfied and loving look that Brittany was giving her. This was the first time she had ever gotten a look like that. Sure, she had gotten the satisfied part of it several times, but never one that held any love with it. If she could see that look on Brittany's face every time they were together like this, she would be the happiest person in the world.

Brittany returned the smile, and flipped them suddenly, catching Santana by surprise. "My turn to have some fun." She said with a smirk and started another kiss between them.

It was slow and sensual, and it was pushing Santana's arousal to a boiling point. She was so wet she was dripping. She had to stop herself several times from taking over and putting Brittany's hands between her legs and telling her to fuck her blind, because she didn't want that. She didn't want to be fucked; she wanted Brittany to make love to her as she was now. She loved the feel of Brittany's hands running all over her body, exploring her with such care and passion, but it was becoming too much for her, so instead of doing something stupid that she didn't want to do, she broke their kiss with a whimper.

"Please…I need you to touch me." She begged in a small voice. She wanted Brittany to do whatever she wanted to do to her, but she was so pent up from everything that they had been doing that it was almost maddening.

Brittany smiled lovingly and nodded. She started a trail of hot open-mouth kisses down Santana neck, down her chest, stopping briefly to suck on both nipples, before she continued her trail of kisses down Santana's abdomen. Santana's whole body started to quake from anticipation and her pulse was racing at an almost alarming rate. She was pretty sure Brittany was trying to kill her with how slowly she was making her way south.

Without taking her lips and hands off Santana, Brittany shifted so she had a better position between Santana's legs and spread Santana's thighs further with her knees. She ran her tongue down the crease where Santana's left leg met her body to the inside her of thigh, where she kissed and nibbled the soft skin. Santana arched her back and she instinctually shifted her hips toward Brittany.

"Baby, please…" Santana cried. She was about to combust from all the teasing.

Brittany smirked against Santana's left thigh and leaned over placing a kiss high on her right thigh. "Patience, Honey." She cooed, and ran her tongue up the crease between her right thigh and hip. She loved the intense look on Santana's face. Despite Santana's begging, Brittany could tell that Santana was enjoying every move she made.

Brittany kissed and licked her way across her skin toward her center, "I don't know if-" Santana started to say but she was cut off when she felt Brittany's tongue circle her clit. "Uuuh, sooo good." She drawled in pleasure.

Brittany glanced up and she smirked at Santana's expression, and circled her clit a few more times before she ran her tongue flatly against her throbbing nub and ventured further down her sex, making long broad strokes.

"Fuuu-" Santana moaned and gripped the comforter with both hands as she involuntarily bucked her hips. Brittany had to wrap her arms around Santana's thighs to try to keep from being injured by Santana's squirming. The last thing she wanted was something to break them out of their moment before they were finished.

Brittany ran her tongue through Santana's folds a few more times before she pulled back. "You taste so good." She said with a smile and ran two fingers through Santana's folds, coating them in Santana's wetness.

"Mmm," Santana moaned, and Brittany was pretty sure she didn't hear a word she said.

"You like this, baby?" Brittany asked as her fingers moved a little faster.

"God, yes!" Santana yelped, actually hearing Brittany that time. "Please. More. So close." She breathed out.

Brittany smiled, happy that she could make Santana feel so good. She moved her fingers though Santana's folds a few more times and then slipped them inside Santana, moving them in and out, as she wrapped her lips around her clit and sucked lightly.

"Don't…don't fucking stop." Santana groaned, shutting her eyes, and tightened her grip on the comforter as she moved her hips against Brittany, matching her rhythm.

A few moments later, Brittany picked up the pace and sucked harder on Santana's clit. Santana's pulse rate increased and her breathing and moaning became even more ragged and frantic. Brittany felt Santana's inner walls squeeze tighter around her fingers, and within seconds, she heard Santana let out a long and loud moan, her back arching, finding her release. Brittany's fingers slowed their pace and she circled Santana's clit a few more times with her tongue, causing Santana body to jerk, intensifying her orgasm.

Santana collapsed on to the bed, and she shook as Brittany pulled her fingers out of her, and slowly moved her lips up her body. When Brittany found Santana's lips, she kissed her hard and with such passion, that what little breath Santana had left was taken away.

When they broke their kiss, they were both breathing heavily. "I love you," was all that Santana managed to say. She wanted to say more, but she couldn't, she was too out of breath and she could barely move.

"I love you too." Brittany said in return and rolled over, off Santana, and laid down beside her, pulling Santana into her. Santana rested her head on Brittany's chest and they laid there, wrapped in each other's embrace, in a comfortable silence as both of their breathing and heart rates started to return to normal.

"I'm sorry if I teased you." Brittany said with a smile after some time. She really didn't mean to tease Santana, she just wanted to make sure that their time together was not rushed and was as magical as it could be.

Santana chuckled and tilted her head so she could look at Brittany. "I thought you were trying to kill me, but it felt so good, I didn't care."

"So I can tease you again sometime?" Brittany asked with smirk.

Santana nodded. "Anytime you want. I don't think having you once would ever be enough." She said playfully.

"That's good to know." Brittany said with a sweet smile and leaned down, kissing Santana softly.

Santana smiled into the kiss and returned it with a few of her own. When they broke apart, Brittany kissed the tip of Santana's nose, and they both giggled. "I love you." Santana said with a smile.

"I love you too, San." Brittany said, returning the smile.

They were about to kiss again, when they heard Max bark at something.

"Crap, I forgot about them." Santana muttered and sat up. She didn't want to get out of bed, but she had forgotten that the pets needed taken care of before they went to bed, and all the lights, and the TV was still on downstairs. "I guess I better get up." She said with a pout.

Brittany nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, you stay there." Santana said and kissed Brittany's shoulder. "I'm just going to let Max out really quick and turn off all the lights. Is there anything I need to do for Lord Tubbington?

"Not really. Where does Max sleep?"

"In here with me. I'll bring Tubbs in with me when I bring Max in." Santana said and got out of bed. She quickly pulled on a short lavender satin robe, and leaned over the bed one last time, giving Brittany a lingering kiss. "I'll be right back." She cooed and then left the room.

When she was sure that her girlfriend was out of hearing distance, Brittany buried her face into her pillow and squealed. She was bubbling over with happiness. In the short time that she had been with Santana, she had already become the best partner Brittany had ever had, and she meant physically as well as emotionally. When Brittany calmed down from her excitement, she rolled over onto her side and propped her head up with her hand.

A few minutes later, Santana walked into to the room, Max at her feet following her, and Lord Tubbington in her hands. When she saw the smile on Brittany's face, she smiled as well. "What's got you looking like that?" She asked as she sat the cat down, and closed the door.

"Just you. I'm glad you came back so quickly." Brittany answered honestly.

"Missed me, huh?" Santana said playfully as she took off her robe, throwing it over the footboard of her bed.

"Uh-huh." Brittany breathed when she saw Santana's naked body again. "Come cuddle." She said with a sweet smile and flipped the covers back for Santana.

Santana's smile widened. She turned off the lamp that she had turned on earlier, and slipped into bed with Brittany. "I love cuddling with you." She said as she laid her head on Brittany's chest. She could hear her heart beating. It wasn't as erratic as it was earlier, but it was beating faster than normal.

"I love cuddling with you too." Brittany said and kissed the top of Santana's head. "I love being with you." She added.

"I love being with you too Britt." Santana said and placed a soft kiss on Brittany's lips.

Brittany smiled into the kiss, and even though Santana couldn't see it in the dark room, she felt it.

"Let's go to sleep." Santana suggested and cuddled back into Brittany's side.

"Okay." Brittany cooed, and tightened her grip around Santana's back.

A silence and serenity settled into the room, and within minutes, the four occupants of the room were sound asleep.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N:** Another chapter down and a lot more to go! I hope everyone liked it and thank you so much for reading! Anon reviewers, you guys are awesome! Thanks for your sweet messages on the previous chapter.

Thanks to **naynay1963** for her help with this chapter! She caught some really embarrassing typos. She also came up with an idea that sounds fun, so once we hit 100 reviews, I will name an original character for the 100th reviewer, and then for every fifty that I get after that. Once I determine the 100th, 150th, etc, reviewers, I will send you a message in your inbox asking what name you want to use. The only rules are that you have to use non-Glee names, so the readers won't get confused. You also don't have to give me your real name if you don't want to, it can be a pseudonym, but it has to be a proper name. Anon reviewers, you can participate too, just make sure you put the name that you want to use in the tag instead of signing your review as 'guest'.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

Brittany woke up the next morning and noticed that she was alone. She looked at the clock that was on Santana's side of the bed and was surprised to see that it was already ten o'clock. She sat up and looked around the room, noticing that Max and Lord Tubbington weren't there either.

"I wonder where everyone's at?" She muttered. She was about to get out of bed to find them, when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

A few seconds later, Santana pushed the door open with her hip. She was carrying a tray of food. "Oh good, you're awake." She said with a smile. "I have breakfast."

Brittany smiled, "Aww, San, you didn't have to bring me breakfast in bed."

"I know, but I wanted to. It's not too much, just mixed fruit, yogurt, an English muffin, and some orange juice. I know how you don't like a heavy breakfast when you first wake up." Santana said and leaned over Brittany's legs, placing the tray on the bed, before she gave Brittany a soft kiss to say good morning.

Brittany returned the kiss and pulled her legs out from under the blanket, swinging them off the side of the bed. She felt the cool air hit her naked body. "You're too sweet." She cooed, looking up at Santana, and then pulled at the sash of Santana's robe, untying it. Santana felt her whole body shudder when Brittany slipped her hands inside her robe, running them all the way up her torso to her shoulders and slid the robe off, making it pool at her feet.

"You were overdressed again." Brittany said sweetly as she slid her hands down Santana's back and rested them on her lower back. "I think it's a rule that you have to be naked when you have breakfast in bed."

Santana swallowed hard. "Is it?" She breathed out. She hadn't heard that rule, but she was more than happy to follow it, especially if it was with Brittany.

"Mm-hmm." Brittany nodded.

Santana nodded in response and Brittany chucked to herself. She could see that Santana was starting to get flustered. "You wanna get back in bed now and have breakfast with me?" She asked with a knowing smirk.

Santana shook herself out of her stupor and smiled down at Brittany. "Okay, ya big tease!" She joked.

Brittany giggled and pulled the blanket over her body again because she was starting to get cold. Santana joined her under the covers as well and then she reached for their plates, handing Brittany her food and drink before she took her own.

"I didn't know if you wanted coffee or not, but if you want, I can make some later." Santana offered.

"No, I'm good, but if you want some, go ahead and make it."

"I think I'm good too. I slept really well last night." Santana said and bumped her shoulder into Brittany's.

"I did too." She said with a smile. "Where are the boys?"

"Max woke me up earlier because he needed to go out, and the last I saw of them, Lord Tubbington was sitting on top of the couch in the playroom and Max was still trying to get him to play with him."

Brittany sighed. "I wish he'd play with him." She wanted them to be friends.

"Britt, he's a five year old cat, and Max isn't even two yet, he still has a lot of energy and puppy in him that Lord Tubbington isn't going to want to deal with. Just give him time to get used to Max. I'm sure after a while; they'll come to a happy medium."

Brittany's pout slowly disappeared. "Okay, I guess you're right." Santana had a point. She just hoped that happy medium came sooner rather than later. "So what do you want to do today?" She asked and took a bite of her muffin.

"Um, I was thinking we could spend some time by the pool and then we can just hang out around here before we have to get ready for dinner tonight. Everyone's coming by around five."

"Okay cool." Brittany said and then a thought hit her. She didn't have a swimsuit with her. "So, are we going skinny dipping?"

Santana nearly choked on her melon from the sudden and unexpected question.

-()-()-()-()-

As it turns out, they didn't go skinny dipping, not because Santana didn't want to see her very beautiful girlfriend naked by the pool, but because as they were going outside, a helicopter flew over her house.

"Um, maybe we should wait until it's dark to go skinny dipping." Santana suggested and quickly closed the door.

"Why?" Brittany asked confused. Santana seemed pretty excited about the idea a few minutes ago.

"A helicopter just flew over the house, and I've seen stories where the paparazzi will rent helicopters so they can get pictures of people in their yards and balconies."

"Is that legal?" Brittany asked, appalled at the idea.

"I guess, it's kind of a douchebag move, but the tabloids keep buying those pictures. If it happened to us, we could sue them, but it wouldn't matter, they'd still have the pictures and they'd be released before we even knew about them."

"Oh." Brittany said in a small voice. She was not a fan of that happening. She decided if there were going to be nude pictures of her out there for everyone to see; it would be ones that she agreed to, not ones that were stolen. "Okay, we'll wait until its dark out. Can I borrow a suit?"

"Yeah." Santana said with a disappointed sigh and led Brittany back to her room to get a bathing suit.

-()-()-()-()-

"San, I wanna talk to you about something." Brittany said.

She and Santana had been lying in the sun on and off for a few hours and she wanted a little shade, so she went over to get a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and then sat down in one of the cabana lounge chairs.

"Sure." Santana said from her place by the pool. She was almost done sunning her backside.

"Um, how long do you think we should wait before we look for an apartment in New York? Do you think it'll take a while, or is it something we can find quickly?"

Santana's head popped up with that. She knew she wanted to share an apartment with Brittany in New York, but she wasn't sure how Brittany felt about it, so she was pleasantly surprised to hear that she wanted to as well, or at least she hoped she interpreted that right.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that." She said sitting up and moved to join Brittany in the cabana. "Do you mean 'we' as in you and I together in an apartment, or 'we' as in you and I looking for apartments separately?"

Now that Santana mentioned it, Brittany could see where she would get the double meaning, and it made her nervous to think that she might have misinterpreted what she thought Santana wanted. "Um, I was hoping that you and I could share an apartment. I mean we'll probably spend a lot of time together and it would be silly to have two apartments if we're not really going to use both of them, but if you think it's too soon, we can get our own places."

Santana gave an internal sigh of relief. She was happy that they were on the same page. "Britt, if it was with anyone else, I'd say it was too soon, but, yes, I want to share an apartment with you." She said with a smile. "I've been thinking about it since before we left New York, and I was a little nervous to bring it up because I wasn't sure if you'd think I was moving too fast and I didn't want to scare you away."

Brittany chuckled, thinking they really were ridiculous romantic saps when it came to each other. "Baby, you could never scare me away, I love you too much." Brittany cooed.

Santana chuckled as well. "I didn't know that at the time. It was right after the pictures of us came out and I was afraid it would be too much too soon."

"I think we have to admit that things are already moving really fast between us. We've known each other for ten days, and already we've fallen in love, admitted it to each other, had really hot and amazing sex together, and acknowledged the fact that we sleep better with the other close by. The list goes on and on, and if that doesn't scream fast, I don't know what does."

Santana couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, their relationship was definitely on a speeding train, but with any hope and luck, it was headed towards happiness.

"It sounds like we're getting an apartment together." Santana said with a wide smile. "What do you think about starting tomorrow? I'll call mine and Kurt's realtor and have him email us some listings. How's that sound?"

"That sounds great." Brittany cooed and leaned over to give Santana a quick kiss. "Do you think we should get a one-bedroom or two-bedroom place?"

Had they been average people, with average jobs, they would more than likely only be able to afford a small studio apartment in Manhattan, but since they both had jobs that paid extremely well, they could easily afford a spacious two-bedroom or even three-bedroom apartment.

"I think we should go for a two-bedroom, that way we still have a room for people to stay when they visit; or when you get mad at me and kick me out of our room, I have a bed to sleep on instead of the couch." Santana joked.

Brittany frowned. "San don't joke about that."

Santana noticed the quick change in Brittany's demeanor and moved from her chair to sit beside Brittany on her lounger. "Britt, I'm sorry, I was just messin' around." She apologized sincerely and took Brittany's hand into her own.

"I know, but I don't want to talk or even think about us fighting."

"Honey," Santana started, but paused making sure she had her words right. She didn't want to aggravate the situation. "I hope I don't ever give you a reason to kick me out of our room, but you know that disagreements are inevitable in any relationship. There's going to be times that we won't get along. But I hope it doesn't happen very often."

Brittany sighed. She knew Santana was right, but she didn't want to talk or joke about it. "I know; I just…can we not joke about us not getting along. I don't like to talk about stuff like that."

"Okay." Santana said nodding. She was sorry that she ever made that joke.

"Thanks." Brittany said in a small, dejected voice, looking down at their clasped hands.

Santana guessed that Brittany's sudden distress was deeply rooted from when Brittany was younger and still living with her birth parents. She remembered that Brittany said she didn't like confrontation, and she guessed if she didn't like it with strangers, then it would be a hundred times worse coming from the person she was in a romantic relationship with. Santana wasn't sure what was going on in Brittany's head, but just the idea that she thought that an argument between them could lead to them not being together pained her.

"Baby, look at me." Santana said in a comforting tone. When Brittany's sad eyes met hers, she smiled lovingly. "I love you so much; more than I ever thought was possible, and just because we may have the occasional disagreement, it doesn't mean that it's going to break us up. We'll work through it, because I'm not going to give up on us easily. I want us to have a long and happy relationship, and I want us to start building our lives up together."

"Really?" Brittany breathed out. He heart was beating a little faster at that beautiful possibility.

"I mean every word of it." Santana said, lifting Brittany's hands to her lips and kissed her knuckles.

Just hearing that Santana wished for a long and happy future together warmed Brittany's heart. "I love you." She said and leaned over, kissing Santana with as much feeling as she could muster.

Santana was surprised by the intensity of the kiss, but she leaned into it, putting one of her hands on Brittany's cheek so she could pull her closer, deepening their embrace. When Brittany broke their kiss, she put her hands onto Santana's shoulders and rested their foreheads together. Santana moved both her hands and gripped Brittany's biceps. They didn't say anything; they just sat there and soaked up the love they always felt when they found themselves like that.

-()-()-()-()-

After an hour of cuddling in the cabana and talking and joking about everything and nothing at the same time, Santana sat up. "I think we should go inside. It's hot, and I need to start making dinner."

"Okay." Brittany agreed, sitting up as well. "I need a shower anyways. Do you think Max has forgiven us for making him stay inside?"

Santana chuckled. "Maybe, but he was too busy trying to play with Lord Tubbington. He's so persistent, but I really wasn't in the mood to clean him up afterwards, and I wanted a couple of hours with you alone, with no pet interruptions."

"They're like kids when it comes to that." Brittany agreed.

"I love them, but at times they can be little vag blocks."

"Vag blocks?" Brittany giggled.

"I think the common term is cock block, but since we're both women, I think vag block is the more appropriate term." Santana answered matter-of-factly.

Brittany just smiled. "You're such a nerd."

"Yeah, but I'm your nerd." Santana shot back.

"True." Brittany said nodding.

Once the pool area was cleaned up, they went back to the house and Max greeted them at the backdoor. He had one of his stuff toys in his mouth, and his head was cocked to the side.

"Hey little man!" Santana cheered and petted him behind his ears. "What have you and Tubbs been up to?"

Brittany started to giggle.

"What?" Santana asked, looking from Max to Brittany.

"Um, someone's been busy." She said and pointed towards the living room.

Santana looked where Brittany was pointing and was met with the sight of Max's toys spread out all over the place.

"Yeah, that's normal; he loves to spread his stuff out. The upstairs is probably littered with his toys too."

Brittany giggled again. "Maybe that's just his way of marking his territory."

"Better that than the other way." Santana chuckled. "But it makes the place look lived in, so I don't mind it too much."

"I agree." Brittany said.

"Okay, I'm going to start dinner." Santana said, going to the refrigerator to pull out ingredients. "Why don't you get a shower, and then hopefully by the time you're done, I'll be finished with the prep and then I'll get cleaned up as well."

"Sure babe." Brittany said and gave Santana a quick kiss before disappearing up the stairs.

-()-()-()-()-

"It smells so good!" Brittany gushed as she returned to the kitchen about an hour later. She took a little longer than normal to get ready. She was a little nervous to meet Quinn, and she wanted to look her best.

"Thanks." Santana said looking in the oven. When she turned to look at Brittany her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Wow, look at you! You look amazing!" She said and quickly made her way over to Brittany. She wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her.

Brittany giggled into the kiss. She thought Santana would like her choice of outfit.

"Baby, are you trying to kill me again?" Santana joked as she stepped back and raked her eyes slowly up Brittany's body, greatly appreciating the way Brittany's emerald green dress accentuated her curves, and showed off her long legs. The dress also showed some cleavage, but it wasn't too revealing. Santana thought it was extremely sexy, yet classy.

"So I'm guessing you like my dress."

"I love it." Santana breathed out, taking Brittany into her arms again as she started a slow line of kisses up her neck.

"Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. I wanted to look really nice for Quinn." Brittany said as she tilted her neck so Santana had more room.

"Hold up!" Santana spat playfully as she backed up. "You mean to tell me that you look like this for Quinn and not me. I'm so not down with that."

Brittany chuckled, hearing the playfulness in Santana's voice. "That's not what I meant, of course this is for you too; I just wanted to make a good first impression with her. I don't want her to not like me."

"Britt, there is no way that's going to happen; she's going to love you."

"If you say so." Brittany conceded with an amused shake of her head. "So, back to the food, it smells delicious. I'm dying to try it. I'm surprised that Lord Tubbington and Max aren't in here begging."

"They were in here earlier while you were in the shower. I gave them some of the meat after I browned it. They went into the living room a little while ago. They played together for a little bit too."

"What?! And I missed it?" Brittany pouted.

"It didn't last long, Tubbs got bored quickly; He would fling one of Max's stuffed animals to the other side of the room, and Max would go get and bring it back to him. It only lasted for a few minutes, but Max seemed happy with it."

"Aww, they were playing fetch!" Brittany cooed.

"See, I told you that they'd figure each other out."

"That's because you're so smart."

Santana smiled and gave Brittany a quick kiss. "I'm going to go take a shower. Will you be okay? Do you need me to get you anything, a drink maybe?"

"I'll be fine." Brittany answered with a smile. She thought it was cute how much Santana was fussing over her.

"Okay, just help yourself to anything if you change your mind."

"Okay." Brittany said giving Santana another kiss.

This one lingered between them and started a light make out session. Santana ran her hands down Brittany's back and down the swell of her ass. When she eagerly gripped it, it surprised Brittany and inadvertently broke their kiss.

"You know, if you keep this up, my makeup is going to be ruined, and you're still going to be in that swimsuit when everyone arrives, not that I would mind, I think you look super-sexy in it and it leaves little to the imagination." Brittany said with a wink.

"Really, you think I'm still going to be in this swimsuit? I would hope that at some point you'd want to take it off." Santana joked with a smirk.

Brittany felt her cheeks heat up. "Oh, I'm always up for that, but I'd rather it not be when I'm trying to make your best friend like me. I'm sure us having sex on the kitchen floor when she gets here would not make a great first impression."

"You're probably right, but just think about how much fun it would be."

"If you go get ready now, I promise I'll show you how much fun I can be after everyone leaves." Brittany said suggestively.

Santana's smirk faltered and she felt her lower abdomen flip. "Deal!" She said quickly and sprinted up the stairs.

When Santana returned, dressed, and freshly showered, she found Brittany and Max sitting on the floor, with Lord Tubbington watching them from the couch.

"Good Boy! You're so smart. High Five!" Brittany said to Max and held her hand up, her palm facing Max.

Max put his paw up to hers.

"Yes, now shake." Brittany said and moved her hand, her palm facing up.

Max put his paw into her hand and she shook it.

"Good, now roll over." She said and twirled her finger in a circle.

Max enthusiastically rolled over.

"Yay! Okay, time for the new one! Dance!" Brittany chirped and raised both her hands in front of her.

Max stood up on his hind legs, turned in a circle, and then put both paws against Brittany's hands.

"Wow! Good boy!" Santana cheered. She had been watching from the stairs and when she saw Max's new trick, she was impressed.

When she joined Max and Brittany in the living room, she sat on the backs of her legs and rubbed Max behind both of his ears. "You were so good little man!"

"He learns quickly." Brittany said and gave Max a treat, which he ate with them instead of running up to his playroom.

"How'd you teach him to do that?" Santana asked.

"When I started I had a bowl of treats. That was my last one, so he's easily motivated." Brittany answered. "Try it."

Santana held up her hands. "Dance." She said and Max did the trick again. Santana couldn't help but chuckle. "This is so cool. My dog dances!"

"Mm-hmm. He's a natural."

"You would know." Santana cooed and leaned to give Brittany a kiss.

When they parted and Brittany had a chance to focus all her attention on Santana, she leaned in and whispered, "You look beautiful." She loved Santana's formfitting burgundy and black striped dress.

"Thanks, but I think you look a lot better than I do." Santana said with a sweet smile, and kissed Brittany again.

The kiss was soft and sweet and it lingered long enough that their guests letting themselves in the front door interrupted them.

"All the time that you two have had to yourselves and you're still making out when we come over." Kurt said with amusement. He bent down to pet Max when he ran over to him and Blaine.

Brittany chuckled and Santana just looked up at him from her place on the floor.

"I was just kissing her, Hummel. It wasn't like I was all over her." Santana retorted and stood up. Brittany followed her to her feet.

"That's not what it looked like from where we were, Santana." Kurt responded. "What were you doing on the floor?"

"Brittany was just showing me a new trick that she taught Max and in my excitement I kissed her."

"Hmm, a likely story." Kurt teased. Out of all the years that he had known Santana, he had never been able to joke around about any of the girls she was with, mostly because he never liked them and he didn't pay as much attention to them as he did with Brittany.

"Whatever. Where's Quinn? I thought you guys were picking her up on the way over." Santana changed the subject.

"We were, but she had a crisis at work that she had to fix. She said she'd be a little late." Blaine answered.

"Okay."

"Brittany, you look gorgeous, how's it been going?" Blaine asked as he and Kurt greeted her with a hug.

"Thanks, and it's been good. We've just been having a quiet lazy weekend with the fur babies."

"Oh that's right, you have a cat." Kurt said and then he noticed Lord Tubbington sitting on the couch.

Brittany picked him up and brought him over for Kurt and Blaine to see. "This is Lord Tubbington."

Kurt and Blaine took turns petting him, each showing interest in the feline, but Lord Tubbington just seemed to tolerate their presence. He didn't dislike them, but he wasn't in the mood to entertain, so when Brittany set him down, he went upstairs.

"It smells delicious in here." Kurt commented when they went in the kitchen. "Your Mom's lasagna?" He asked based on the smell.

"Yep." Santana said and looked in the oven.

"Yummy, you two are going to love this." Kurt said to Blaine and Brittany.

"So I keep hearing." Brittany said with a smile.

"Britt, you set the table?" Santana asked when she noticed that the table already had five plates and silverware set out.

"Yeah, I figured it was the least I could do since you cooked everything." Brittany said with a shy smile.

"Aww thanks Babe." Santana cooed and gave Brittany a quick thank you kiss. She half-expected Kurt to make another joke, but thankfully, none came.

"You're welcome." Brittany whispered, still smiling.

"Santana, is there anything I can help you with?" Blaine asked when Santana went to take the food out of the oven so it could cool.

"Um, not really, I made a salad and vinaigrette; if you want, you can take it out of the fridge and put it on the table."

"Sure."

"Oh and there's a couple of bottles of white wine in there too; grab one of them and a bottle of red off the rack, so we can have a glass while we wait for Quinn."

"You got it." Blaine said with a smile.

After a glass of wine and twenty minutes of small talk in the living room, the front door flung open and Quinn rushed in.

"I'm so sorry for being late! I swear the people in my department are so incompetent. I have half a mind to fire every one of them and get someone in there that knows what they're doing. It's a wonder we get anything done!" Quinn huffed.

"Well they have you to crack the whip and issue beatings, so I'm not surprised they accomplish near impossible feats." Kurt said sarcastically, standing up to greet her.

"In my work, I need perfection, not the half-assed shit I get on a daily basis-," Quinn continued, but Brittany didn't hear any more when Santana took her attention.

"You ready?" Santana whispered to Brittany when she noticed the nervous look on Brittany's face. Quinn's rather dramatic entrance hadn't helped her nerves.

"Yeah." Brittany said with an unsure nod and she squeezed Santana's hand.

"Don't worry; she's not going to bite you." Santana encouraged and they stood up.

Brittany wasn't sure. Quinn looked and sounded upset, and she didn't want to be on the receiving end of that if she didn't like her.

"I am _not_ too demanding!" Quinn growled and just as Kurt was about to counter, Santana interrupted the debate that would go on all night if she didn't step in. This was their version of friendly banter.

"Okay, that's enough from you two. Quinn, pull your claws in."

Quinn turned to look at Santana, ready to give her a piece of her mind, when she saw Brittany standing next to her. Quinn's demeanor did a complete one-eighty, and she smiled widely.

"Oh my god, is this Brittany?" Quinn asked. She sounded sweet and friendly. Brittany was shocked at how fast Quinn could transform her attitude.

"Yes." Santana said with a proud smile. She could see Quinn's approval of Brittany's physical appearance.

"You are beautiful. More than what Kurt, Santana, and all those tabloid articles made you out to be." Quinn said to Brittany and extended her hand for Brittany to take.

"Thanks. And I take it you're Quinn." Brittany said shyly, shaking her hand.

"Yes, it's nice to finally meet. This one here wouldn't stop talking about you." Quinn said playfully, hooking her thumb towards Santana.

"Hey, I wasn't that bad." Santana said embarrassed, because Quinn was right. When she finally got the chance to talk to Quinn about Brittany, she couldn't stop.

"Yeah, sure." Quinn said with a roll of her eyes.

"It's nice to finally meet you too." Brittany said. She was starting to feel a little better about Quinn, now that she didn't seem so upset.

"So tell me about yourself, Brittany. I wanna know the girl that managed to turn our hard-assed Santana Lopez into a mushy romantic sap."

Before Brittany could say anything, Santana spoke.

"Really, Quinn? REALLY?!" Santana groaned, embarrassed again. She felt like a teenager who's just brought her first girlfriend home and her parents pulled out the naked baby pictures. She already went through that once, she didn't need to go through it a second time.

"Santana, seriously, I didn't think you had this side to you. It's nice to see you melt at just the mention of Brittany's name." Quinn teased.

Brittany blushed, and giggled at Quinn's comment. It was nice to hear from someone else that she could make Santana melt.

Quinn knew she was embarrassing Santana, but she was relishing in the fact that she was able to do it now, because in the past, 'Santana's Women,' as she like to call them, were total money-grubbing fame-whores that she never wanted to spend much time with, let alone have an intimate dinner together. So far, she liked Brittany, and she didn't know much about her, only what Santana and Kurt had told her, but she could tell just from the way Brittany seemed nervous to meet her, and Santana and Kurt's praises of her, that Brittany was going to be different than all the others.

"Whatever." Santana grumbled, resigning herself to the embarrassment that came with Quinn getting to know Brittany. That was the point of the dinner anyways, so as long as they liked each other at the end of the night, it would all be worth it. "Let's go eat before the food gets cold, and you can ask her whatever you want."

-()-()-()-()-

As it turned out, it was worth it. Quinn and Brittany seemed like old friends by the end of the night. Quinn asked Brittany all sorts of questions about herself, her family, her week in New York with Santana, and they seemed to bond over their cats and old high school cheerleading stories. Santana even learned a thing or two about Brittany that she didn't know already, and Brittany learned A LOT about Santana, because Quinn was eager to share stories of a much younger and awkward Santana.

Santana grinned and bared it, because she saw how happy Brittany was to learn about her past.

"Brittany, we have to spend more time together before you and Santana leave for New York, and I'm definitely coming to your opening night. I can't wait to meet your family either. They seem like such charming people." Quinn said as she was getting ready to leave. She and Brittany shared a tight embrace.

"I'd like that." Brittany said with a wide smile. She was so happy that things went well and that Santana's best friend liked her, and she liked her in return.

"Santana definitely got it right with you." Quinn complimented.

Brittany blushed and Santana smiled at Quinn's compliment. After years of listening to Quinn bitch at her about her choice in women, she took it as huge victory to hear those words from Quinn.

"Thanks." Brittany said suddenly shy again.

"If she gives you any crap, you just call me and I'll be sure to set her straight." Quinn offered.

Santana was about to protest, but Brittany responded before she could. "Not too straight I hope." She said with an amused wink. "I still want her to be attracted to me afterwards."

Everyone laughed, Kurt, Blaine, and Santana especially found Brittany's comment amusing.

"Okay. Not too straight." Quinn agreed, still chuckling.

"Ladies, I hate it, but Kurt and I have to go, I have an extremely early morning tomorrow." Blaine said.

"Yeah, me too." Quinn added, referring to her early morning as well. "The mess I left earlier still needs some of the kinks worked out, so if it's not fixed by tomorrow afternoon, my staff is going to meet my angry side." She said seriously.

"And they haven't already." Kurt quipped.

"Oh they have, but I'm going to bring out a whole different level of angry on them tomorrow if I have to."

"Like what kind of angry are we talking about here?" Kurt asked, genuinely curious. Quinn fascinated him when it came to her mood swings. One day, she was singing her staff's praises, and the next they were incompetent idiots. She demanded perfection from her employees and nothing less.

"I might actually make good on those threats to fire people. We nearly lost a twenty-five million dollar account tonight before I stepped in and smoothed over the situation with our client. I haven't lost an account yet, and I don't plan to start now."

"I'm sure you'll work it out." Kurt said with a wave of his hand. Quinn was very dedicated to her work, and he could appreciate that.

"Okay, thanks for coming for dinner, and we'll all get together soon." Santana said, moving the conversation towards them leaving because her friends tended to get distracted easily when it came to their discussions and she knew they needed to go.

"Yes, thanks Santana. We still on for our meeting on Tuesday?" Kurt asked.

"Yep."

"Great."

The group said their goodbyes and when they all disappeared into their vehicles, Santana shut the front door.

It was quiet again, but it wasn't alarming. It was actually calming. For the past couple of hours, Santana's house had been quite loud with the varying conversations that went on.

"So, I think that went well." Brittany said and wrapped her arms around Santana's waist.

Santana smiled and nodded as she wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck. "I think so. You and Quinn got along just fine, so that was a plus."

"I guess I was worried over nothing." Brittany said with a chuckle. "I loved all her stories about you, even though I could tell you got quite embarrassed over a few of them."

"I kinda figured it was coming, but it's fine, I don't mind you knowing all that stuff."

"Even the time Quinn and your Mom caught you dancing in your room in your underwear?"

"Yeah, even that." Santana said with a goofy smile. That story was tame compared to the time her parents came home early from a weekend getaway and walked in on her and her girlfriend having sex in the living room. She wanted to die over that one, but thankfully, Quinn never heard that story, she made sure to keep that misstep to herself.

"I love how cute you get when you're embarrassed. I wanted to kiss your rosy cheeks all night." Brittany cooed.

Santana smiled. She was sure that she blushed enough over the course of the evening that at some point it was visible. "My cheeks aren't rosy now, but my lips would love it if you'd give them some proper attention."

"I can totally help you out there." Brittany said with a smile and kissed her softly. She was always up for kissing Santana.

Santana sighed into the kiss and she moved to deepen it by running her tongue over Brittany's lips. Brittany eagerly responded, meeting Santana's tongue with her own, and within minutes, it was heated to the point that both women were uncomfortable in their clothing.

When she couldn't stand it anymore, Brittany broke the kiss and took one of Santana's hands into her own. "Come on." She said with a husky voice as she led Santana into the back yard.

Santana felt her lower abdomen tighten as she watched Brittany come to a stop in front of her pool and quickly pulled her dress over her head, tossing it carelessly off to the side. When Brittany removed her bra and panties, Santana couldn't help but moan at the sight. It was like she was frozen in place, lost in the sexy show in front of her.

Brittany then threw Santana a sly smirk over her shoulder before she dove gracefully into the pool. When she came back to the surface, she couldn't help but giggle at Santana. "Are you going to stand there and stare at me all night or are you going to strip and join me." She called playfully as she did a slow backstroke towards the other end of the pool.

When Brittany's words sunk in, Santana shook herself out of the trance that Brittany had put her in, and very quickly removed her own clothing. She was pretty sure she ripped something in her haste, but she didn't care, all that mattered was getting into the pool with her gorgeous, very naked girlfriend. Santana dove into the pool, coming to the surface just in front of Brittany and as soon as she opened her eyes, Brittany pulled her closer by her waist.

"You're so hot when you're wet." Brittany practically moaned, and started another heated kiss between them.

As they moved further towards the other end of the pool, it got deeper and soon it was almost too deep for Santana to stand and continue the kiss, so Brittany bent down a little and pulled Santana's thighs up, hooking them around her waist. With the added height, Santana was a little taller than Brittany, so Brittany had to tilt her head up while they kissed.

When they broke the kiss, they were both out of breath and their chests were heaving together.

"Holy hell, I'm so fucking turned on right now." Santana breathed out looking down at Brittany.

"Hmm, you better prepare yourself," Brittany started to say as she walked them over to the side of the pool, "Because I am going to make you come so hard, you're not going to be able to see straight." She finished and pressed Santana's back into the wall of the pool, kissing her hard.

Brittany's words and passionate kiss caused Santana to moan in her mouth and she buried her hands into Brittany's wet hair, pulling her into her as much as physically possible. She was so aroused that she could feel her wetness between her legs slick over Brittany's lower abdomen.

She wasn't the only one to notice. Brittany felt it, almost as quickly as Santana, because it felt different than the water around them. "Mmm, you're so wet." Brittany moaned breaking their kiss, and started a trail of kisses down Santana's jaw towards her ear. She also took one of her hands that she was using to hold Santana to her, and cupped her left breast, kneading it.

Santana moaned again and started to grind her center into Brittany because she needed the friction to help relieve the throbbing. It was so intense that it almost hurt, but like in a good way.

"Britt, please!" Santana cried as she tilted her head so Brittany could have more room to kiss down her neck. She needed to be touched soon or it might just make her go crazy.

"Please what?" Brittany smirked against Santana's skin as she slowly kissed her way down to her breasts. They were under the water, so Brittany used her other arm to push Santana up enough so she could take her right nipple into her mouth.

This caused Santana to hunch forward with a whimper and bury her face into Brittany's wet hair. "Baby, I need you inside me, NOW!"

Brittany smirked again and nipped Santana's nipple before she released it so she could talk. "What have I told you about patience?" She said playfully and then let go of Santana's other breast with her hand and replaced it with her mouth.

"Fuck patience!" Santana yelped as Brittany bit moderately on her nipple.

Brittany looked up with amusement in her eyes. "I thought you wanted me to fuck you?"

"YES! I want you to fuck me into oblivion, PLEASE!" Santana begged. She couldn't remember a time, other than last night with Brittany, that she begged anyone to do anything to her.

"Mmm, I don't know, I'm not sure if you can handle it." Brittany teased.

"I think I can han-" Santana started to disagree with her, but when Brittany unexpectedly plunged two fingers deep inside her, she let out a loud moan and inadvertently put more weight onto Brittany's arm, pushing herself further into the water and Brittany's hand. She was now eye level with Brittany and she wrapped her arms tight around her neck.

Brittany gave her a few seconds to adjust to her and then she started to thrust slowly in and out of Santana. The look on her face and uninhibited noises of ecstasy coming from Santana made Brittany's smile widen and she couldn't help but start another kiss with Santana. It was slow and steady, matching the pace of her hand. Santana whimpered and writhed into Brittany's hand, feeling it bump into her swollen clit.

It wasn't long before Brittany started to pick up the pace.

"Yeees!" Santana breathed out, breaking their kiss. She loved Brittany's stamina.

"You like that?" Brittany asked.

"Mm-hmm," Santana moaned her answer of approval. She wasn't sure if she could form a sentence that was more than one word at the moment.

"Lean back and hold onto the side." Brittany ordered.

Santana quickly complied with the request, and she felt herself float a little when Brittany unhooked her legs from around her waist. Brittany stepped in between Santana's legs again and pulled her fingers out of her. She leaned in and kissed Santana deeply, running her hands all over her body before she ended the kiss and slipped down into the water, pulling Santana's thighs over both of her shoulders.

Santana took a few deep breaths; her desire for Brittany escalating to a level that she didn't even know existed for her. "You're so sexy." She breathed out.

Brittany didn't say anything in return. All she did was smile. She leaned down and ran her tongue over Santana's clit a few times before she took it in between her lips and sucked hard.

"That. Feels. So. Damn. Good!" Santana cried, as she arched her back, at the feel of her girlfriend's lips on her most intimate area.

Brittany chuckled to herself, and released the sensitive nub with a flick of her tongue, before she ran her flattened tongue down through Santana's folds. She made long and broad strokes, causing Santana to squirm. When she pushed her tongue inside Santana, Brittany tightened her grip on Santana's thighs to make sure she didn't buck into her face too hard.

"Fuck, Britt!" Santana moaned, and she nearly lost her grip on the side of the pool.

Brittany shifted her eyes up so she could see Santana's reaction. She had her eyes closed, and her chest was heaving rapidly, up and down, out of the water. Brittany thought she might be close, so she started thrusting her tongue in and out of Santana faster, and she pressed her thumb to her clit, making a circular pattern over it.

Santana pressed into Brittany's face harder and within seconds, she came undone, moaning long and loud into the open air around her as her whole body shook from her orgasm.

Brittany ran broad strokes with her tongue over Santana's center as she came, and when she felt her body start to come down, Brittany quickly gathered Santana into her arms, because she was sure that she wouldn't be able to hold herself up for much longer.

Santana wrapped her legs around Brittany's waist again and buried her face into the crook of her neck, taking deep breaths. Nothing was said between them, all that could be heard was the heavy breathing from both women. Brittany held her tightly, one of her arms around her waist, the other on the back of Santana's head. When their breathing even out, Santana lifted her head and looked at Brittany. Brittany gave her a lazy happy smile, and Santana returned it, putting both hands on Brittany's cheeks so she could kiss her softly.

"I love you." Santana whispered, and rested her forehead on Brittany's.

"I love you too." Brittany returned the sentiment.

A few moments past and Santana started laughing.

"What?" Brittany asked.

"When I came, I actually did see stars. You weren't kidding when you said that I wasn't going to see straight."

Brittany's heart filled with pride. "I told you." She said playfully.

"I know." Santana hummed in complete satisfaction. She took one of Brittany's hands into her own as she put both of her legs down and tip toed her way to a place in the pool where she could stand comfortably.

Brittany followed, still holding her hand. Santana stopped a few seconds later and pulled Brittany into a hot kiss backing her against the wall, just as Brittany had done to her earlier.

"I _really_ want to return the favor," Santana whispered against Brittany's lips as she ran her hand down her abs.

"Oh please do." Brittany said with a smirk and crashed her lips into Santana's. She was eager to find out if she could see stars too.

As it turned out, she did. Lots and lots of stars.

-()-()-()-()-

**A/N**: That was a fun chapter, I thought! I hope everyone liked it and thank you for reading!

Thank you to everyone (anon and signed) that reviewed last chapter. We're only 11 reviews short of 100, so if we reach 100 after this chapter, I have a great spot to put an original character named for the 100th reviewer in Chapter 11. Just a reminder of the rules: you have to use non-Glee names, so that the readers won't get confused. You also don't have to give me your real name if you don't want to, it can be a pseudonym, but it has to be a proper name and not a joke name, (Hugh Jass, anyone?) or a celebrity's name either. Anon reviewers, you can participate too, just make sure you put the name that you want to use in the tag instead of signing your review as 'guest'. In the event the 100th reviewer doesn't want to participate (or it's an anon who didn't give a name) it will go to the 101st reviewer.

Also, a big thanks to **naynay1963** for all her great help!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.


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